ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington women's basketball team (14-13, 10-7 WAC) begin their final homestand of the 2023-24 campaign when they host Seattle U (4-22, 4-13 WAC) on Thursday, Feb. 29, with tipoff beginning at 6 p.m. central time from inside the College Park Center.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 6th overall meeting between the two programs, with their first matchup dating back to UTA's first stint in the WAC during the 2012-2013 season. This will be the second time the Redhawks have made the trip to the College Park Center. The Lady Mavs claimed the victory earlier this season in Seattle by a final score of 72-54.
SCOUTING SEATTLE U
The Redhawks are playing some of their best basketball over the last five contests, winners of three of those five games. They are led by Mya Moore who averages 12.5 points per game. Moore is 2nd in the WAC in overall blocks (34) and blocks per game (1.31). As a team, the Redhawks make 6.6 three pointers per game which is the 5th best mark in the WAC. They average 12.8 offensive rebounds per game which is the 84th best mark in the nation and 2nd best in the conference.
TICKET PUNCHED
After a victory over Southern Utah on Wednesday, Feb. 21, the Lady Mavs punched their ticket to WACVegas.
'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 77th. The Lady Mavs also have the best NET Strength of Schedule in the conference at 177. UTA also holds the 4th highest NET ranking (185) in the WAC, only behind Grand Canyon (90), California Baptist (128) and Stephen F. Austin (149).
ALL-AROUND HOOPER
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 (216 total and 8.0 RPG), in total assists (107), second on the team in blocks (30), in minutes played per game (29), and third on the team in offense (333 total points and 12.3 PPG). In 27 games, she has nine double-doubles and one triple-double. The nine double-doubles not only leads the team but the WAC, while the latter 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 eight weeks ago.
FOUR FOR FOUR LIKE WENDY'S
Lady Mavs junior guard
Gia Adams earned her fourth straight WAC Newcomer of the Week honors after averaging 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals last week. Adams became the first player in league history to win four consecutive WAC women's basketball weekly award honors. She recorded 20 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals at Southern Utah. Adams then tallied 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals at Utah Tech.
On the season, Adams is the leading scorer for the Lady Mavs, averaging 14.4 points per game while also averaging 32 minutes played per game. Her 14.4 PPG is the 5th best mark in the WAC while her 389 total points is the 3rd best mark in the conference. She recently scored her 1000th career point, which came via a three pointer on the road at Grand Canyon. She leads the Lady Mavs with 43 steals for the year while her 44.7 field goal percentage is 4th best in the WAC.
SHARPSHOOTERS
As a team, the Lady Mavs are shooting 32.3-percent from beyond the arc. This is the 3rd best mark in the conference and 120th overall in the nation. UTA shoots 42.4-percent from the floor which is the 4th best mark in the conference and the 107th best mark in the NCAA.
Taliyah Clark leads UTA with 49 made three pointers on the season. Her 1.81 three pointers per game is 5th best in the WAC. She is 2nd on the team with 12.4 points per game and is third on the squad with 3.8 rebounds per game.
CZECH MATE
5th year transfer Adela Valkova has found her groove these past 18 games, posting double digits in all but six contests. Valkova is 4th on the team, averaging 9.4 points per game and is 2nd on the squad with 5.0 rebounds per game. Against Utah Tech at home, she grabbed her 100th rebound of 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 seven of the 27 games played this year.
CRASH THE GLASS
The Lady Mavs average 36.74 rebounds per game, which is the 5th best mark in the WAC.They average 26.4 defensive rebounds per contest, which is the 3rd best mark in the conference and the 101st best mark in the country.
Brittingham leads the conference with 216 total rebounds on the season, which has her 99th in the NCAA. Her 8.0 rebounds per game have her 2nd in the WAC.
FREEBIES
The Lady Mavs are one of the best teams in the country when it comes to getting to the free throw line, averaging 19.04 free throw attempts per game. This is the 66th best mark in the country and 4th best in the WAC.
The 13.52 free throws made per game has the Lady Mavs 4th in the WAC and 73rd in the NCAA while their 71.0-percent from the charity stripe is the 5th best mark in the conference.
THE FACILITATORS
The Lady Mavs dish out the rock with the best of them in the WAC and NCAA while also taking care of the ball. They average 15.1 assists per game which is the 3rd best mark in the WAC and the 65th best in the nation. Their assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.00 is the 3rd best mark in the conference and 88th best in the NCAA.
Adams is 4th in the WAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.66), has 88 assists on the season averaging 3.3 assists per game which has her 9th in the WAC. Brittingham checks in near the top of the leaderboard in conference in total assists with 107 on the year, the 2nd best mark in the WAC. She is 4th in the WAC averaging 4.0 assists per game and 8th in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.20).
Nya Threatt is third on the Lady Mavs with 73 assists on the season, averaging 2.7 assists a game. Threatt matched her career high and posted a season's best with seven assists three weeks ago versus CBU.
YOU'RE ALL INVITED TO THE BLOCK PARTY
The Lady Mavs average 4.0 blocks per game, which is tops in the WAC and 61st overall in the NCAA.
The two headed monster of Valkova and Brittingham lead the charge for the Lady Mavs. Valkova has 41 blocks on the season, which is 1st in the conference and 62nd in the NCAA. She averages 1.52 blocks per game which is 1st in the WAC and 69th overall in the country. Meanwhile Brittingham has 30 blocks on the season which is the 3rd best mark in the WAC. She averages 1.11 blocks per contest which is 5th best 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 Southern Utah, Wright now has 61 wins and trails Krista Gerlich (121), Donna Capps (119), Connie Kelch (117), Mike Dean (115) and Samantha Morrow (74). Wright's .575 winning percentage is the best in program history.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Lady Mavs claimed their 100th victory inside the friendly confines of the College Park Center with a win over Abilene Christian back on Jan. 20, 2024. After a victory over Southern Utah, the Lady Mavs now sport a 102-67 overall record at the CPC. UTA seems to be at their best when playing in front of the home crowd.
IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR
Basketball is a family affair for several people, and that's no different for some Lady Mavs. Transfer
Avery Brittingham is following in the footsteps of her brother, Hayden Brittingham, who spent the 2021-22 season as part of the UT Arlington men's basketball team. Incoming freshman,
Miraya Perkins, is the daughter of former North Carolina Tar Heel, Olympian and 17-year NBA veteran, Sam Perkins.
NEXT UP
The Lady Mavs final home game of the 2023-24 campaign takes place on Saturday, March 2, when they welcome Utah Valley to the College Park Center for the first time. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. central 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
