ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington women's basketball team (9-10, 5-4 WAC) return home to begin their second longest homestand of the season on Thursday when the Lady Mavs host Southern Utah (5-13, 3-6 WAC) at 6 p.m. from inside the College Park Center.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 3rd overall meeting between the two programs, with their first meeting coming back in 2004 during a non-conference matchup. The Lady Mavs hold a perfect 2-0 record versus the Thunderbirds with a perfect conference record and a victory at home as well as on the road.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH
The Thunderbirds come into Arlington in the 8th spot in the current WAC standings ahead of UTRGV, Tarleton and Seattle U. Daylani Ballena leads the way for Southern Utah, averaging 14.8 points per game along with 3.6 assists per game. The T-Birds have the reigning WAC Newcomer of the Week in Ava Uhrich, who averages 13.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Samantha Johnston averages 8.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
'NET' SO FAST
With the non-conference slate over, the Lady Mavs hold the best Net-Non-Conference Strength of Schedule in the WAC. UTA is the only WAC team to crack the top-100, coming in at 82nd. The Lady Mavs also have the best NET Strength of Schedule in the conference at 152. UTA also holds the 5th highest NET ranking in the WAC, only behind Grand Canyon, California Baptist, Stephen F. Austin, and Abilene Christian.
THE MACHINE
Avery Brittingham has done a little bit of everything this season for the Lady Mavs. The senior out of Fort Worth leads the Lady Mavs in rebounding (156 total and 8.2 RPG), in total assists (74), second on the team in blocks (18), in minutes played per game (30), and third on the team in offense (215 total points and 11.3 PPG). In 19 games, she has six double-doubles and one triple-double. The later has her 6th in the NCAA and 2nd in the WAC. Her triple-double came against her former team, SFA. She has been named one of the five U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week once so far this season, this came for her performance four weeks ago.
GOOD AS ADVERTISED
Sharpshooter
Taliyah Clark is 2nd on the team with 12.6 points per game and is third on the squad with 3.9 rebounds per game. Her 73.5-percent from the free throw line is the 6th best mark in the WAC.
Gia Adams is the leading scorer on the Lady Mavs averaging 12.8 points per game while also averaging 31 minutes played per game which is tops on the team. Last time out at Grand Canyon, Adams collected her 1000th career point, which came via a three pointer. She is 2nd on the team with 30 steals.
CZECH MATE
5th year transfer Adela Valkova has found her groove these past ten games, posting double digits in all but two contests. Valkova is 4th on the team, averaging 9.3 points per game and is 2nd on the squad with 4.8 rebounds per game. She is eight rebounds away from 100 on the season. At Jacksonville State, she posted a career high 21 points to help lead the Lady Mavs to victory. Matched her career high of 8 rebounds three times, last coming at UTRGV while setting a new career high of 5 blocks at Utah Valley. Has posted at least one block in all but two of the past 10 games and has one block in all but five of the 19 games played this year.
CRASH THE BOARDS
The Lady Mavs average 35.16 rebounds per game, which is the 7th best mark in the WAC. They average 25.8 defensive rebounds per contest, which is the 3rd best mark in the conference.
Brittingham leads the conference with 156 total rebounds on the season, which has her 101st in the NCAA. Her 8.2 rebounds per game have her at the top of the leaderboards in the WAC and 90th overall in the country.
FREEBIES
The Lady Mavs are one of the best teams in the country when it comes to getting to the free throw line, averaging 19.21 free throw attempts per game. This is the 71st best mark in the country and 2nd best in the WAC, behind Cal Baptist's 20.61 per game.
The 13.53 free throws made per game has the Lady Mavs 4th in the WAC and 79th in the NCAA while their 70.4-percent from the charity stripe is the 5th best mark in the conference.
DROPPIN DIMES
The Lady Mavs are one of the best teams in the WAC when it comes to dishing out the rock. They average 14.3 assists per game which is the 5th best mark in the WAC.
Adams is 5th in the WAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.53) and has 58 assists on the season. Brittingham is 2nd in the conference in total assists with 74 on the year and 3rd in the WAC averaging 3.9 assists per game.
Nya Threatt is third on the Lady Mavs with 48 assists for the season, averaging 2.53 assists a game.
BLOCK PARTY
The Lady Mavs average 3.8 blocks per game, which is tops in the WAC and 86th overall in the NCAA. Valkova leads the charge with 30 blocks on the season, which is 1st in the conference and 70th in the NCAA. She averages 1.58 blocks per game which is 1st in the WAC and 68th overall in the country. Meanwhile Brittingham has 18 blocks on the season, averaging 0.95 blocks per contest which is 6th in the WAC.
THE PRICE IS WRIGHT
Head coach
Shereka Wright just overtook Cindy Salser (1976-79) for the sixth most wins in school history with 52 after a win against Tarleton State on Jan. 4. After the victory over Abilene Christian, Wright now has 56 wins and trails Krista Gerlich (121), Donna Capps (119), Connie Kelch (117), Mike Dean (115) and Samantha Morrow (74). Wright's .571 winning percentage is the 3rd best winning percentage in program history.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Lady Mavs just claimed their 100th victory inside the friendly confines of the College Park Center with a win over Abilene Christian. Sporting a 100-65 overall record at the CPC, the Lady Mavs seem to be at their best when playing in front of the home crowd.
CONFERENCE US-WHO
The Lady Mavs took care of business during the non-conference slate against teams from Conference USA. In the inaugural WAC/CUSA Challenge, UTA went a perfect 2-0 when they defeated New Mexico State at home and Jacksonville State on the road. The Lady Mavs also defeated Sam Houston on the road, which was the start of UTA's season-high 7-game win streak.
NEXT UP
The Lady Mavs continue their conference tilt when they host Utah Tech on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tipoff was originally slated for 2 p.m. but has been pushed back to a 2:30 p.m. start time.
– #BuckEm –
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the women's basketball program on Twitter (@UTAMavsWBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsWBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsWBB).
