ABILENE, Texas – The UT Arlington women's basketball team (14-12, 9-6 WAC) dropped a tough road game to Abilene Christian (19-10, 8-6 WAC) on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 81-74 inside the Moody Coliseum.
For the third time this season, the Lady Mavs had five or more players finish with double figures led by Taliyah Clark who finished with 16 points to go along with two steals, one block, one rebound and an assist.
Avery Brittingham finished with 15 points and on a free throw attempt in the third quarter, Brittingham recorded her 1500th career point. She also had a team high four steals to go along with five rebounds, three assists and a block in 30 minutes.
Nya Threatt finished with 14 points on 5-for-7 from the field with three rebounds and an assist. Zoe Nelson finished with a season high 11 points on 5-for-6 from the floor to go along with four rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist in 29 minutes. Koi Love rounded out the balanced scoring attack for the Lady Mavs, finishing with 10 points, a team high six rebounds and four assists along with three steals in 31 minutes.
GAME FLOW
The Lady Mavs struggled offensively in the first quarter, shooting 29 percent from the floor and 25 percent from the free throw line while not hitting a three and headed into the second quarter trailing the Wildcats by ten points, 21-11.
UTA picked it up offensively in the second quarter, going on a 10-0 run in the quarter while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor, hitting two triples and going perfect from the charity stripe to close the gap and head into the locker room down three, 39-36.
Clark led the charge with 10 points at the half while Brittingham and Threatt each had seven and Love had six points as the first half concluded.
The Lady Mavs recorded the first two buckets of the third quarter to take a quick one-point lead, their first lead since early in the first quarter, but it was short lived as the Wildcats immediately answered back to regain the lead, 41-40. UTA tied it once more in the third but couldn't retake the lead.
Up one with 5:47 left to go in the third, ACU would go on a 14-4 run to push their lead to 11. The Lady Mavs managed to score the final two baskets of the quarter to cut the deficit back down to seven, going into the fourth trailing 66-59.
In the fourth frame, the Lady Mavs traded baskets with the Wildcats for the majority of the quarter before an 11-1 run by the Lady Mavs put them down three, 75-72, with 2:53 left to go in the game. That would be the closest UTA could get as ACU put the game out of reach, scoring six of the games last eight points for the 81-74 victory.
GAME NOTES
- The Lady Mavs fall to 11-9 all-time against the Wildcats and snaps UTA's two game winning streak in the series. UTA falls to 1-6 in Abilene.
- UTA forced the Wildcats into 16 turnovers, the 22nd time they forced opponents into 15 or more turnovers this season.
- As a team, the Lady Mavs finished with five blocks on the game, the 13th time this season they've finished with five or more blocks.
- The Lady Mavs shot 52 percent from the field while holding ACU to 47 percent. UTA falls to 12-1 on the season when shooting better than their opponent.
- The 10 made threes for the Wildcats proved to be the deciding factor in the game while the Lady Mavs managed to hit two.
- UTA scored 14 points off turnovers compared to ACU's 21 points.
- ACU outrebounded UTA, 38-27. UTA is now 4-11 when outrebounded by opponents.
- The Lady Mavs are currently on a five game skid, their longest of the season and longest since starting off the 2023-24 season 0-5.
NEXT UP
The regular season finale sees the Lady Mavs welcoming California Baptist to the College Park Center on Saturday, March 8, for a 2 p.m. tipoff. Join us as we celebrate our seniors on Senior Day inside the CPC.
– #BuckEm –
FOLLOW ALONG
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