ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington women's basketball team (14-14, 10-8 WAC) wrap up the 2023-24 home schedule when they welcome Utah Valley (9-17, 4-13 WAC) to the College Park Center on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. central time.
The Lady Mavs are also celebrating Senior Day and will be honoring two seniors who play integral parts within the women's basketball program: Fifth Year Forward, Adela Valkova and Special Assistant to the Head Coach,
Reagan Hukill.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 3rd overall meeting between the two programs, with their first matchup dating back to last season. The overall series is tied at one game apiece. This will be the first trip to the College Park Center for the Wolverines, as both previous matchups have come in Orem. The Lady Mavs took the game earlier this season by a score of 72-64.
SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY
The Wolverines are led offensively by Kylee Mabry who averages 7.8 points per game. Mabry also leads UVU with 56 steals. Tessa Chaney has 164 total rebounds on the year, averaging 6.3 per contest to lead the Wolverines. As a team, UVU leads the WAC and ranks 7th in the country in bench points per game with 28.8. Defensively, Utah Valley averages 11.5 steals per game which leads the conference and is 9th nationally.
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 78th. The Lady Mavs also have the best NET Strength of Schedule in the conference at 178. UTA also holds the 5th highest NET ranking (196) in the WAC, behind Grand Canyon (85), California Baptist (127), Stephen F. Austin (193) and Abilene Christian (193).
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 (222 total and 7.9 RPG), in total assists (109), second on the team in blocks (34), in minutes played per game (29), and third on the team in offense (348 total points and 12.4 PPG). In 28 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 14.2 points per game while also averaging 32 minutes played per game. Her 14.2 PPG is the 5th best mark in the WAC while her 397 total points is the 4th 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 44.5 field goal percentage is 4th best in the WAC.
SHARPSHOOTERS
As a team, the Lady Mavs are shooting 32.8-percent from beyond the arc. This is the 2nd best mark in the conference despite taking the 9th most attempts in the WAC. It's also 103rd overall in the nation. UTA shoots 42.5-percent from the floor which is the 2nd best mark in the conference and the 101st best mark in the NCAA.
Taliyah Clark leads UTA with 54 made three pointers on the season. Her 1.93 three pointers per game is 4th best in the WAC. She is 2nd on the team with 12.8 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 19 games, posting double digits in all but six contests. Valkova is 4th on the team, averaging 9.5 points per game and is 2nd on the squad with 5.1 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 28 games played this year.
CRASH THE GLASS
The Lady Mavs average 36.57 rebounds per game, which is the 5th best mark in the WAC. They average 26.1 defensive rebounds per contest, which is the 3rd best mark in the conference and the 110th best mark in the country.
Brittingham leads the conference with 222 total rebounds on the season, which has her 93rd in the NCAA. Her 7.9 rebounds per game have her 2nd in the WAC and 112th 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 19.25 free throw attempts per game. This is the 56th best mark in the country and 3rd best in the WAC.
The 13.46 free throws made per game has the Lady Mavs 4th in the WAC and 77th in the NCAA while their 69.9-percent from the charity stripe is the 7th 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 15.3 assists per game which is the 3rd best mark in the WAC and the 61st 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 (1.77), has 94 assists on the season averaging 3.4 assists per game which has her 7th in the WAC. Brittingham checks in near the top of the leaderboard in conference in total assists with 110 on the year, the 3rd best mark in the WAC. She is 4th in the WAC averaging 3.9 assists per game and 9th in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.15).
Nya Threatt is third on the Lady Mavs with 78 assists on the season, averaging 2.8 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 4.1 blocks per game, which is tops in the WAC and 59th overall in the NCAA.
The two headed monster of Valkova and Brittingham lead the charge for the Lady Mavs. Valkova has 42 blocks on the season, which is 1st in the conference and 56th in the NCAA. She averages 1.50 blocks per game which is 1st in the WAC and 67th overall in the country. Meanwhile Brittingham has 34 blocks on the season which is the 3rd best mark in the WAC. She averages 1.21 blocks per contest which is 3rd 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 .570 winning percentage is the third 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 conclude the regular season on the road when they travel to Riverside, Calif. to take on California Baptist from inside the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center. Tipoff is slated for 8 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
