PHOENIX, Ariz. ---
Starr Jacobs continued to tear her way through the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with a 24-point, career-high 21-rebound performance on Saturday inside the GCU Arena, which helped lead the UT Arlington women's basketball team (14-15, 8-9 WAC) to a 93-77 win over Grand Canyon (19-8, 11-5 WAC).
The victory, which spoiled Grand Canyon's senior day and avenged an earlier loss to the Antelopes, was UTA's fourth in the past five games as they now enter their regular season finale next Thursday at 7 p.m. inside the College Park Center against Stephen F. Austin.
In addition to Jacobs,
Taleyah Jones poured in 22 points along with five rebounds and a pair of assists. She finished 8-of-12 from the field and buried two critical 3-pointers in the second half - the first with 6:36 left in the third quarter after Grand Canyon opened the second half on an 8-2 run and the second one just one minute into the fourth quarter after GCU had scored the first four points. Over the past five games, she has averaged 15.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting .491 from the field.
Jireh Washington added 19 points, three rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists while shooting 7-of-10 from the field. Since returning from an injury on Feb. 11, the senior point guard has averaged 15.2 points over five games. It is her sixth-straight game with 10-plus points overall.
One game after going scoreless for just the second time in her collegiate career,
Kayla White scored five of UTA's first seven points en route to 17 points, two rebounds and a steal. Her 3-pointer as the shot clock expired in the final minute of the first half gave the Lady Mavs a 50-point half.
The trio of Jacobs, Jones and Washington finished an incredible 24-for-32 (.750) from the field with 65 of the team's 93 points.
Kamaria Gipson (6) and
De'Sha Benjamin (5) combined for the team's other 11 points as the Lady Mavs finished .576 from the field as a team overall and .600 from long distance.
Jacobs, though, continued to be the straw that stirs the drink for UT Arlington. The senior forward produced her WAC-best ninth double-double in conference play alone, including her fourth over the past five games, a stretch in which she has averaged 24.4 points, 14.2 points, four assists and 3.4 steals while shooting .580 from the field. It was also her sixth game in WAC play with at least 20 points, and she now has exactly 1,100 career points - in just 57 career games - which puts her in a tie with Candice Champion (2005-09) for 14th-place on the program's all-time scoring list.
After scoring seven of the game's first nine points, UT Arlington opened up a 23-10 lead following a 13-0 run, which was capped by a layup from Washington with 1:47 left in the first quarter. Another layup from Washington in the final minute gave the Lady Mavs a 28-13 lead.
Grand Canyon chipped away, though, eventually burying back-to-back 3-pointers to trim their deficit to 10 with 3:19 left in the half. Jacobs, however, scored five straight and seven of the game's next nine points, and White's aforementioned 3-pointer completed a 12-4 run as the Lady Mavs took a 50-34 lead into the break.
In the second half, GCU was able to get as close as five with 4:11 left in the third. Beginning with the ensuing possession, though, Jacobs tipped in a miss, Washington converted a fast break layup and White buried another triple for a 64-54 lead with 2:27 left. The Lady Mavs then scored the final six points of the quarter.
The final momentum-killing moment for GCU came when the Antelopes pulled back within 10 following a pair of free throws with 7:07 left in regulation. Washington and Benjamin made back-to-back layups to start a 7-0 run that end with another tip-in for Jacobs, who then clinched her 20-20 game 14 seconds after that with yet another putback layup.
Jacobs also finished with team-high totals in assists (5) and steals (4).
Grand Canyon was led by Tiarra Brown, who had 19 points and five steals. Evans (14), Olivia Lane (10) and Dominique Phillips (10) also scored in double-figures while Evan Zars pulled down a team-best seven rebounds. Aaliyah Collins also had eight points, seven steals and five assists before fouling out late.
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