HOUSTON, Texas – The UT Arlington women's basketball team wraps up their six-game road trip on Friday, Dec. 12, when they take on the Rice Owls inside the Tudor Fieldhouse for an early 11:15 a.m. tipoff.
 
The Lady Mavs are looking for their fourth straight win and have their best nine-game start to a season since the 2022-23 campaign when they also started off 5-4 heading into their tenth contest. It's also tied for the second-best start to a season with head coach Shereka Wright at the helm.
 
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the eighth overall meeting between the two programs, with the Lady Mavs holding the edge in the all-time series, 5-2. The all-time series dates back to March 1983 and will be the first time the two have met since December 2021. The Lady Mavs enter with a five-game win streak in the series and hold a 2-1 record in Houston. UTA averages 70.43 points per game while Rice averages 70.14 points per game in the all-time series. 
 
SCOUTING RICE
The Owls enter the game with a 7-3 overall record while carrying a perfect 4-0 record at home into the contest. As a team, the Owls average 67.4 points per game while holding opponents to 59.8 points per game. Opponents are outshooting the Owls from the floor as a team, with opponents knocking down 39.7-percent of shots while Rice shoots 37.2-percent from the field. The Owls excel as a team while at the free throw line, shooting 83.6-percent. Three Owls average double figures in scoring: Dominique Ennis (13.2), Shelby Hayes (10.6), and Victoria Flores (10.1).
 
WE GOT SHOOTERS
The Lady Mavs are one of the better shooting three-point teams in the conference despite taking the least amount of attempts, averaging a league-low 12.1 attempts per game. Despite the amount, the Lady Mavs sit third in the league in three-point percentage, converting 32.1-percent of their attempts.
 
UTA is coming off one of their best three-point clinics in recent memory, drilling 10 of 15 attempts at home against Wyoming. It's the most made in a game since hitting 11 back on March 7, 2024 at California Baptist. The Lady Mavs on two occasions last season hit nine, once against Wiley and the other time coming on the road at Utah Tech.
 
The last home game against Tennessee State, the Lady Mavs followed their 10 made three-point barrage against the Lady Tigers, drilling seven more to make that 17 three-pointers in their last two home games. In their first two games of the season, the Lady Mavs only hit four of their 17 three point attempts. 
 
At the Hawaii North Shore Showcase, the Lady Mavs connected on 13 three-point attempts through three games.
 
WE DEFEND THE THREE-POINT LINE ALSO!
The Lady Mavs defend the three-point shot extremely well, holding opponents to 20.2-percent through nine games on the season. This is the top mark in the conference and the best mark in the nation.
 
In three games at the Hawaii North Shore Showcase, the Lady Mavs held opponents to just six total made three-pointers on 52 attempts. UTA held Colorado to 0-for-9, Texas A&M to 2-for-20 and VCU to 4-for-23 from deep.
 
Through nine games, opponents have shot under 30-percent from deep in seven of the Lady Mavs' nine games. Last time out at Little Rock, the Trojans managed to shot 46.7-percent from beyond the arc, the best any opponent has shot from deep against the Lady Mavs this season. Prior to that, the Lady Mavs held opponents under 20-percent the past three games.
 
SWISS ARMY KNIFE
True freshman Kira Reynolds has made her presence for the Lady Mavs not only known throughout the league, but putting the whole nation on notice. Through nine games, she leads the Lady Mavs in points and rebounds, averaging a near double-double with 13.0 ppg and 9.2 rpg. Her four double-doubles on the year have her tied for the top mark in the league as well as for 20th nationally. 
 
When she gets to the free throw line, she's almost automatic as she's shooting 80.5-percent from the charity stripe, the third best mark in the conference.
 
Her 83 total rebounds are third most in the league and 73rd most in the country. She's third in the conference with 9.2 rebounds per game which also has her 49th in the country. Her 7.7 defensive rebounds per contest is tops in the WAC and 18th in the NCAA.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, she's a menace in blocking shots. Her 30 total blocks is tied for the best mark in the WAC and is the fourth best mark in the NCAA. Her average of 3.33 blocks per game is also tied for the best mark in the league while it has her ranked third in the nation.
 
TWICE AS NICE
Kira Reynolds was named the Western Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Week for the second week in a row. It marks two Newcomer of the Week honors for the true freshman while she also has one WAC Player of the Week honor under her belt.
 
BENCH MOB
The Lady Mavs boast one of the best benches in the WAC, with the bench averaging an impressive 22.9 points per game which is the third best mark in the conference.
 
STILL THROWING A BLOCK PARTY
The Lady Mavs were one of the better shot blocking teams in the WAC last season and that is still setting up to be the trend this season as UTA averages a shade over five blocks per game, coming in at 5.2 per contest which is the second best mark in the WAC and the 26th best mark nationally.
 
Freshman Kira Reynolds leads the charge for the Lady Mavs, coming in with 30 total blocks for an average of 3.33 blocks per game. A total of seven of the 12 players on the roster have recorded a block on the season. As a team, the Lady Mavs have 47 blocked shots on the season while opponents have only managed 17 blocks against UTA.
 
JOIN IN ON THE FUN
The last game in the Hawaii North Shore Showcase against VCU, everyone who touched the floor for the Lady Mavs recorded at least one point and one rebound for the first time this season.
 
20 PIECE, NO BBQ SAUCE
Three of the Lady Mavs five wins this season have come way by the Lady Mavs defeating opponents by 20 or more points.
 
NO LIMIT VETERAN
Senior point guard Nya Threatt is coming into her newfound role as the leader of the team as the most experienced player on the team with 66 starts under her belt. She is coming off a career night where she dropped a new career best 21 points in front of a homecoming crowd inside the CPC. She currently sits second on the Lady Mavs averaging 11.0 points per game to go along with a team-high 26 assists and 12 steals in eight games for the point guard.
 
IF IT'S FREE, IT'S FOR US
Through nine games on the season, the Lady Mavs are 
shooting 74.0-percent (134-of-181) from the free throw line while opponents are shooting 68.2-percent (146-of-214) from the charity stripe.
 
The Lady Mavs sit fourth in the league in free throw attempts per contest with 20.11. They sit second in the conference in free throw percentage while clocking in at 83rd nationally while also coming in at second in the WAC and 57th in the NCAA in free throws made with 14.89 per contest.
 
NEXT UP
The Lady Mavs home for their lone game inside the College Park Center during the month of December on Wednesday, Dec. 17, for a 6:30 p.m. CT tipoff. Come celebrate Christmas at the CPC with us and make sure you wear your favorite ugly Christmas sweater. You can purchase your game ticket here.
   
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).