ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington women's basketball team returns home to the College Park Center on Wednesday, Dec. 4, when they welcome the Houston Cougars to Arlington to kick off the second month of the season. Tipoff is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start.
 
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 14th overall meeting between the two programs, with Houston holding the all-time lead 10-3, however all three of the Lady Mavs wins have come in their last three meetings. The last time the two met was two seasons ago when the Lady Mavs defeated the Cougars 67-64 in Houston. The last time the Cougars visited the College Park Center back during the 2021-22 season, UTA defeated the Cougars 69-66 in an overtime thriller. The first meeting between the two dates back to March 1977, a 68-64 win for Houston.
 
SCOUTING HOUSTON
The Cougars currently hold a 2-6 overall record and are in the midst of a three game skid. Houston is 0-2 on the road this season. Two Cougars are averaging double figure points on the year, Gigi Cooke at 11.0 points per game and Laila Blair at 10.2 points per game. Eylia Love leads the Cougars with 5.9 rebounds per game. As a team, Houston averages 55.9 points per game, 33.9 rebounds per game and 8.6 assists per game.
 
KICKIN' IT WITH KOI
Fifth year transfer Koi Love is establishing herself as one of the premier players in the Western Athletic Conference not just on the offensive end but the defensive side of the ball as well.
 
Through seven games, Love is averaging 16.4 points per game, which is currently the second best mark in the WAC and the 116th best mark in the nation as of 12/2. Love has put up 115 total points in the Lady Mavs seven games, which is fourth in the conference. She has made 48 field goals in the early going, which is third best in the WAC and the 99th best mark in the NCAA. Love's 49.0 field goal percentage is tied for the third best mark in the WAC and 135th overall. She is also tied for second in the WAC with three 20 point performances.
 
Love's 22 steals are the most in the WAC and 29th in the NCAA. Her average of 3.14 steals per game is also the best mark in the conference and 18th nationally.
 
In just her second game in the orange and blue, Love finished with a game high 21 points to go along with one rebound, one assist and one steal in 16 minutes. Love's impressive 10-for-11 night from the floor moved her into the record books as well, putting her in a tie for 9th place with a 90.9 field goal percentage, first time since 2020 that's been done.
 
Love recorded 20 points in her Lady Mavs debut, that's the most in a debut for the Lady Mavs in over 10 years. In her first game donning the blue and orange, Love swiped a career high five steals and tied her career high with two made three pointers in 33 minutes of action.
 
ALL AROUND HOOPER
Avery Brittingham is showing why she's a Preseason All-WAC selection in the early portion of the season. Through seven games, she has already posted a triple double, one of nine that's happened throughout NCAA Division I.
 
She leads the league in rebounds at 65, 93rd nationally, while her average of 9.3 rebounds per game also leads the league and is 56th in the NCAA. She is tied for the top spot in the WAC with three 10 rebound games.
 
In the early part of the season, Brittingham has posted three double doubles through seven games which is tied for the league lead and 27th in the country. She is currently second on the team in points per game at 12.7.
 
Brittingham's 25 total assists are tied for the fifth most in the WAC while her average of 3.6 per game are also the fifth best mark in the conference. Her 10 assist game against Arlington Baptist is one of six 10 assist outings this year in the WAC.
 
IF IT'S FREE, IT'S FOR ME
As a team, the Lady Mavs are one of the best teams in the conference and the nation in getting to the free throw line in the early part of the season, averaging 23 free throw attempts per game, which is the best mark in the WAC by nearly three, and 17th nationally. Their average of 14.29 free throws made per game is tops in the league and 51st nationally.
 
Brittingham's 44 total free throw attempts is the second best mark in the conference and the 48th best nationally.
 
TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
The Lady Mavs are one of the best in the conference when taking care of the basketball. They average 15.6 turnovers per game, which is the third best mark in the conference and the 112th best in the nation.
 
DEFENSIVE INTENSITY
The Lady Mavs force 19.29 turnovers a game, the fourth best mark in the WAC and the 90th best in the NCAA.
 
Their 10.1 steals per contest are the fifth best mark in the conference and 80th in the country.
 
The Lady Mavs have the fourth best turnover margin in the WAC and the 80th best in the NCAA at 3.71. The Lady Mavs assist to turnover ratio of 0.85 is the sixth best in the WAC. Brittingham has the fourth best assist to turnover in the WAC at 1.92 and is the 111th best mark in the country.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The UT Arlington women's basketball team fell inside the Moody Coliseum to SMU by a final score of 71-46.
 
Avery Brittingham led the charge for the Lady Mavs with a team-high 17 points while pulling down 13 rebounds, her third double double of the season. Brittingham also finished with three steals, a block and an assist. The three steals are tied for her season-high and is the third time this season she's finished with three steals. She also tied her season-high with 32 minutes played.
 
Koi Love had her best defensive performance in not only a Lady Mavs uniform, but also in her collegiate career, finishing with a career-high six steals and matching her career-high in blocks with three. Love also finished with eight points, five rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes of action. 
 
Coming off the bench, Taliyah Clark chipped in with eight points to go along with a pair of assists and a rebound in 17 minutes. Kendal Robinson added five points, three rebounds, an assist and a block in 18 minutes off the bench.
 
The Lady Mavs jumped out to an early lead, winning the opening tip and recording the first bucket of the game on a Brittingham jumper followed by a Love steal that led to an easy layup. Up 13-9 with four minutes left in the first quarter, UTA would go on a 10-4 run to put them up by 10 going into the second quarter, 23-13. The second quarter was a quarter of runs for both teams, with the Mustangs starting the second with a 9-2 run to cut UTA down to three, 25-22. The Lady Mavs would respond with their own 8-3 run to extend their lead to eight, 33-25. SMU would end the quarter on a 9-0 run that saw them take their first lead of the game with 48 seconds left in the quarter, bringing us to the locker room down 34-33. The third quarter saw the Mustangs go on a 10-0 run to end the quarter, putting them up by 17, 57-40. The Lady Mavs could not close the gap for the remainder of the contest.
 
As a team, the Lady Mavs only found themselves at the free throw line a total of seven times when they average about 26 attempts and 16 makes from the charity stripe per game. The officials let the two teams play, with SMU only attempting 12 free throws all game.
   
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 X (formally known as Twitter) (@UTAMavsWBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsWBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsWBB).