UT Arlington women’s basketball celebrates week of victories, on and off the court

Christmas has indeed been a time of rejoicing for the UT Arlington women’s basketball team.

The Mavericks had a lot to celebrate over the last week: They added more depth to their roster with the NCAA granting another player immediate eligibility, picked up a big win over SMU and enjoyed some time off for the holidays.

Last weekend, UTA women’s basketball coach Krista Gerlich brought her team together on the court to announce that junior transfer Barbara Benson had been granted a waiver by the NCAA and was immediately eligible to play. Benson’s teammates all screamed with excitement while dishing out hugs.

Benson transferred from UT San Antonio, where the 5-foot-11 guard averaged 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds last season. She scored in double figures four times, including a 19-point game against San Diego.

“We have waited a long time for this and to have our full squad available is very exciting,” Gerlich said. “Barbara brings dynamic athleticism and energy that is next level.”

UTA continued its run of good news Sunday with a 51-46 win at home against SMU, helping to end a recent skid. The Mavericks (6-5) had lost back-to-back games and five of their last six before the win over SMU.

Senior transfer forward Marie Benson — Barbara’s sister — led UTA with 12 points and six rebounds against SMU. Senior guard Aysia Evans came off the bench to add 10 points.

UTA used a fast start — outscoring SMU 14-4 in the first quarter — to build a 31-17 halftime lead before holding on late.

“A big win for our program and for our team,” Gerlich said. “I was really happy with our girls the way we started. I thought our first quarter was really, really good. It was so much better than it has been. A great win and a great way to go into Christmas break.”

UTA closes out its nonconference schedule Monday at home against Texas Southern before starting Sun Belt Conference play Thursday at home against Arkansas State. Four of UTA’s first six Sun Belt games will be at home.

Late run sparks North Texas women

The North Texas women’s basketball team will close out its nonconference schedule Sunday at home against Texas A&M-Texarkana before opening Conference USA action Thursday at home against Western Kentucky.

North Texas (5-6) won last week over Louisiana-Monroe, 63-51, at home before the Christmas break thanks to a 14-0 run to start the fourth quarter.

“I didn’t think we looked like ourselves until the fourth quarter,” North Texas coach Jalie Mitchell said. “We had great energy to start the fourth quarter. We were able to press and get some steals and turn that into points. We fed off of that.”

Freshman forward Destinee McDowell led the Mean Green with a career-high 21 points, including 15 in the second half, seven rebounds and five steals. Freshman guard Jazion Jackson added 10 points, five rebounds and four steals.

Mean Green set to open C-USA play

The North Texas men’s basketball team used a 17-1 run midway through the first half last Saturday to pull away from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 86-53, at the Super Pit.

The 86 points were a season high for the Mean Green (5-7), who were led by Javion Hamlet’s 15 points and season-high nine assists. Zachary Simmons added 12 points and junior Thomas Bell came off the bench to score 11.

“Our effort and tempo really broke open the game for us,” Mean Green coach Grant McCasland said. “To have this kind of offensive performance was great.”

North Texas closes its nonconference schedule at 5 p.m. Saturday at home against Texas Wesleyan before opening Conference USA play Thursday at Western Kentucky, the preseason favorite to win C-USA.

UTA men off to another 0-2 start in SBC

The UTA men’s basketball team couldn’t maintain an 11-point halftime lead last Saturday in a 77-74 loss at Georgia Southern to start Sun Belt Conference play at 0-2.

The Mavericks (4-9) have now lost five consecutive games and nine of their last 11. UTA started Sun Belt play 0-2 last year as well but won 12 of its final 16 regular-season games en route to making the conference tournament title game.

Sophomore guard David Azore led UTA with a career-high 33 points and 12 rebounds and senior point guard Brian Warren scored a season-high 28 points.

But UTA struggled in the second half and finished with 18 turnovers.

“We can’t turn the ball over 18 times and expect to beat good teams on the road,” UTA coach Chris Ogden said. “We put up a good fight, but it’s not good enough and we’ve got to find a way to close these games out.”

After almost two weeks between games, UTA will return to Sun Belt play Thursday at Arkansas State.