ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington women's basketball team are set to begin Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play, starting with Tarleton State on Saturday, Jan. 4, from inside the College Park Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. central time.
 
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 20th overall meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1974. The Lady Mavs hold a 14-5 record over the Texans and are currently riding a five-game win streak in the series. The two programs met back in 2022 for the first time since 1991 when UTA returned to the WAC. The Lady Mavs hold a perfect 4-0 WAC record over the Texans while being a perfect 2-0 inside the College Park Center.
 
 
SCOUTING TARLETON STATE
The Texans are currently riding a four-game win streak and are sitting in fourth in the WAC standings as we begin conference play. Senior guard Arieona Rosborough leads the Texans in scoring with 11.3 points per game and has three 20-point performances so far on the season. Tarleton State currently leads the WAC in field goal percentage defense (35.7-percent), free throw percentage (74.3-percent), rebounding margin (7.2), defensive rebounds per game (26.8) and scoring defense (54.5).
 
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 record-breaking victory over Wiley, the Lady Mavs now sport a 107-68 overall record and a perfect 4-0 record in 2024-25 at the CPC. UTA seems to be at their best when playing in front of the home crowd.
 
YOUNG VETERAN
Koi Love earned her second straight and third overall Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Newcomer of the Week award, the conference office announced Tuesday afternoon.
 
A fifth-year guard from Orlando, Fla., Love posted the first triple double of her brilliant collegiate career in the Lady Mavs non-conference finale against Wiley University when she put up 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to help lead UTA to a historic 113-51 win. She shot 9-of-12 from the field while also finishing with a pair of blocks and a steal in 23 minutes.
 
Her three WAC Newcomer of the Year honors are the second most in program history and trails the four that Gia Adams earned the previous season.
 
TRIPLE DOUBLE FACTORY
There have been 18 triple doubles in all of NCAA Division I so far in the season and the Lady Mavs have three of those 18 with Avery Brittingham (2) and Koi Love (1). UTA is the only team with multiple players to post a triple double. Brittingham is tied for fifth amongst active players with four career triple double performances. In program history, the Lady Mavs have five with three of those coming this season and Brittingham is the only player with multiples, three in her tenure with UTA.
 
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 11 games, Love is averaging 16.5 points per game, which is currently the second-best mark in the WAC and the 106th best mark in the nation as of 1/2. Love has put up 181 total points in the Lady Mavs' 11 games, which is eighth in the conference. She has made 76 field goals in the early going, which is sixth in the WAC while her 51.7 field goal percentage is the second-best mark in the WAC and 69th overall. She is also tied for fourth in the WAC with three 20-point performances.
 
Love's 27 steals are the seventh most in the WAC and 144th in the NCAA. Her average of 2.45 steals per game is the third best mark in the conference and 60th nationally. 
 
ALL AROUND HOOPER
Avery Brittingham is showing why she's a Preseason All-WAC selection in the early portion of the season. Through 11 games, she has posted two triple doubles which has her tied for second in all of NCAA Division I. She is tied for fifth in the NCAA among active players with four career triple doubles.
 
She is second in the league in rebounds per game at 9.0 and 56th nationally while her 99 total rebounds are the fifth most in the WAC. She has five 10 rebound performances on the season which is tied for the most in the WAC.
 
In the non-conference part of the season, Brittingham has posted five double doubles through 11 games which is tops in the league and 36th in the country. She is currently second on the team in points per game at 12.5.
 
Brittingham's 48 total assists lead the team while tied for the sixth most in conference, her average of 4.4 per game are the fourth best mark in the conference and 86th nationally. Her two 10 assists performances are tied for the second most in the WAC and are two out of nine such performances throughout the conference.
 
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 at the halfway point of the season, averaging 21.55 free throw attempts per game, which is the best mark in the WAC, and 23rd nationally. Their average of 14.27 free throws made per game is tops in the league and 39th nationally.
 
Brittingham's 60 total free throw attempts is the fourth best mark in the conference while her 61.7 free throw percentage is the fourth best mark in the WAC.
 
DEFENSIVE INTENSITY
The Lady Mavs force 19.64 turnovers a game, the fourth best mark in the WAC and the 73rd best mark in the NCAA.
 
Their 10.5 steals per contest are the fourth best mark in the conference and 58th in the country.
 
The Lady Mavs have the fourth best turnover margin in the WAC and the 97th best in the NCAA at 2.73 while their 0.91 assist to turnover ratio is the third best mark in the conference. Brittingham has the second-best assist to turnover in the WAC at 2.09 and is the 62nd best mark in the country.
 
TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
The Lady Mavs are one of the best in the conference when taking care of the basketball. They average 16.9 turnovers per game, which is the fourth best mark in the WAC.
 
STILL THROWING A BLOCK PARTY
The Lady Mavs are still one of the better shot blocking teams in the WAC a year later after leading the league and having two of the top shot blockers in the conference a season ago.
 
UTA has 46 blocked shots through 11 games as a team, the third highest total in the conference (Utah Valley - 50 in 12 games & Tarleton State - 53 in 15 games). Averaging 4.2 blocks per game, the best best mark in the conference and 58th nationally. Avery Brittingham averages 1.18 blocks per game, the third best mark in the WAC and 130th nationally. Koi Love is right behind Brittingham, sitting fourth in the conference with 1.09 blocks per game. 
 
In 11 games, the Lady Mavs have posted at least one block in each contest. Their best block performance as a team came against Arkansas when they had nine, the second most by a WAC team on the season and have two other games on the year where they posted seven apiece while having two six block performances also.
 
MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS
The Lady Mavs best free throw performance in the past five seasons came against UTSA, where UTA hit 18 of their 19 free throws for .947 percent. This is the third time during Coach Wright's tenure where the Lady Mavs shot .900 or better from the charity stripe. Back during Coach Wright's first season at the helm during the 2020-21 season, the Lady Mavs were a perfect 9-for-9 at Arkansas State on Feb. 26. On Jan. 30 while hosting Arkansas State, the Lady Mavs connected on 18 of their 20 free throw attempts for a .900 average. The .947 percent is the second-best percentage under Coach Wright's tutelage and is the best mark when attempting 15 or more free throws.
 
THE PRICE IS WRIGHT
Head coach Shereka Wright overtook Cindy Salser (1976-79) for the sixth most wins in school history with 52 last season after a win against Tarleton State on Jan. 4, 2024. After their record-breaking win over Wiley, Wright now has 69 wins and trails Krista Gerlich (121), Donna Capps (119), Connie Kelch (117), Mike Dean (115) and Samantha Morrow (74). Wright's .561 winning percentage is the fourth best in program history.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The UT Arlington women's basketball team closed out 2024 and their non-conference schedule with a bang, defeating Wiley by a final score of 113-51 on Monday evening inside the College Park Center.
 
The 113 points are the most ever in a single game for the Lady Mavs, breaking the record set back in 2023 when UTA put up 106 against Sam Houston State in a 106-102 double overtime victory. This is the second time this season that the Lady Mavs have crossed the 100-point plateau.
 
The Lady Mavs had six players finish with double digit scoring efforts on the night.
 
Avery Brittingham and Koi Love both made history as the first pair of Lady Mavs to record a triple double in the same game. This marks the fourth and fifth triple doubles in program history, with Brittingham having three of them. Love finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with a pair of blocks and a steal in 23 minutes. The 10 assists mark a new career high for Love. Brittingham finished with 10 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with three steals and a block in 24 minutes of action.
 
Taliyah Clark finished with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-10 from the floor and going an impressive 5-for-7 from behind the arc. Clark pulled down three rebounds while dishing out an assist in 17 minutes.
 
Miraya Perkins finished with a career high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe to go along with three rebounds in 17 minutes.
 
Aspen Thornton had her best performance in a Lady Mavs uniform, finishing with a season-high 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field, 2-for-3 from deep and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Thornton also grabbed one board, dished out two assists and had two steals in 24 minutes of action.
 
Alexsyah Goudeau finished with a season-high 11 points to go along with four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 23 minutes.
 
As a team, the Lady Mavs had their best shooting night of the season so far, shooting 59.7-percent from the field as well as shooting 47.4-percent from deep, the first time this season the Lady Mavs shot over 40-percent from beyond the arc. For the third straight game, the Lady Mavs shot over 80-percent from the free throw line, going 18-for-21 tonight for 85.7-percent.
 
The Lady Mavs tied their best rebounding performance this season, grabbing 54 boards for the game. The 32 assists that were dished out by the Lady Mavs is the most assists in a game this season for UTA. 
 
UTA finished with six blocks as a team, the fifth game this season where the Lady Mavs finished with five or more blocks in a game. Through 11 games, the Lady Mavs have registered at least one block in each game.
 
The Lady Mavs secured the opening tip and went straight to work, recording the games first 15 points before Wiley managed to get on the scoreboard. UTA managed to hold the Wildcats to seven points in the first quarter, matching their best defensive quarter of the season when they held Arlington Baptist to seven points in the fourth quarter back on Nov. 7.
 
The Lady Mavs went into halftime up by 39 on Wiley, 56-17.
 
UTA's best scoring quarter of the season happened coming out the half when the Lady Mavs put up 30 points in the third. This is the first time this season that the Lady Mavs registered a 30-point quarter.
 
The Lady Mavs finished the game hitting 10 of their last 11 shots while holding Wiley to just one field goal on their last seven attempts.
   
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).