ARLINGTON, Texas — UT Arlington women's basketball (10-13, 4-7 WAC) returns to College Park Center on Thursday, Feb. 12, to host Abilene Christian (17-7, 8-3 WAC) in a pivotal WAC matchup. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, and the evening will feature Throwback Thursday at CPC.
UTA enters Thursday carrying momentum after back-to-back home victories at College Park Center. The Lady Mavs have won their last two games on their home floor an 84-78 double-overtime thriller over Utah Tech and a gritty 60-59 overtime win over Utah Valley on Saturday, building confidence and defending home court with resilience. Now, the Mavericks turn their attention to an Abilene Christian squad sitting in second place in the conference standings, making Thursday another opportunity to protect CPC and continue climbing in the WAC race.
"This week the theme for us is consistency, its to. build on teh success we had last week...Not being complacent taking care of one game at a time is the emphasis of this group," head coach Wright said.
The matchup is a rematch of a tight contest on Jan. 10 in Abilene, where the Wildcats edged UTA 59-56 in a game that came down to the final possession. The all-time series between these two programs has been tightly contested, with UTA holding an 11-10 edge dating back to 1973. At College Park Center specifically, the Lady Mavs have been strong against ACU, holding a 3-2 advantage.
UTA continues to be paced by freshman standout Kira Reynolds, who leads the Mavericks in scoring (12.4 ppg), rebounding (8.2 rpg), and blocks (2.7 bpg), while Nya Threatt steadies the offense and is second on the team in scoring (9.1 ppg) and first in assists (2.6 apg). Kali Haizlip remains UTA's top perimeter threat, from three on the season. Laura Bello has emerged as a scoring threat off the bench, providing critical production in recent wins, including a balanced 17-point performance in Saturday's overtime victory, while Jadyn Atchison (8.0ppg) adds another scoring dimension with her ability to attack from multiple levels. Defensively, UTA's identity starts on the arc the Lady Mavs are holding opponents to 25.4% from three (first in the WAC and top-10 nationally), while Reynolds ranks among the national leaders in blocks.
"Our transitions our ability to push the. ball is going to be important...Containment of what they do offensively, we have to make sure we contain that," said head coach Wright.
Abilene Christian enters at 17-7 overall and 8-3 in WAC play, led by junior guard Payton Hull (17.9 ppg). The Wildcats bring a balanced offensive attack that averages 73.2 points per game while also playing stout defense, allowing just 58.4 points per contest. ACU thrives on creating turnovers, they average 11.8 steals per game and converting those mistakes into easy baskets on the other end.
NOTEWORTHY
- Quick turnaround: UTA plays on just three days' rest after Saturday's overtime battle with Utah Valley.
- Throwback Thursday: Thursday's game celebrates UTA basketball history at College Park Center.
- Conference implications: With ACU sitting in second place and UTA looking to climb the standings, Thursday's game carries extra weight in the WAC race.
- Senior guard Alexsyah Goudeau played her 100th game in a Lady Mavs uniform in the OT victory over Utah Valley, Feb. 7, 26.
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos, and more, follow the women's basketball program on X (formerly Twitter) @UTAMavsWBB and Instagram @UTAMavsWBB.
– #BuckEm –
