by Nicholas Huenefeld
BEAUMONT, Texas — The UT Arlington women’s basketball team (5-4) closed the game on a 16-5 run to secure a 60-56 win over Lamar University (3-3) on the road in the Montagne Center Saturday afternoon.
It was the third-consecutive victory for the Lady Mavs, who will be back in action with a 7 p.m. road match against Baylor on Wednesday.
Starr Jacobs led UTA with a game-high 22 points along with eight rebounds, three steals and two assists. Taleyah Jones, who made all six of her free throws in the fourth quarter, added a season-best 11 points and three rebounds. Those two scored six points apiece in the crucial fourth quarter.
Alexsyah Goudeau (Cherokee) and Shyia Smith contributed eight points apiece. Smith pulled down a game-best nine rebounds along with team-highs in assists (3) and blocks (2). Goudeau tied Jacobs for the team-high in steals as the two combined for all six of the team’s thefts.
UT Arlington opened the game with six of the first eight points behind four points and an assist from Jacobs, who ultimately scored or assisted on every point for the Lady Mavs over the game’s first 13+ minutes. Lamar, however, used an 18-3 run over a near 10-minute stretch in the first half to take a 20-9 lead.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Goudeau and De’Sha Benjamin seemed to get the Lady Mavs going offensively as they answered that run with a 14-2 spurt over a nearly five-minute stretch that was capped by a pair of free throws from Jacobs for a 23-22 lead with 1:36 left in the half.
A last-minute jumper from Lamar’s Sabria Dean would ultimately give the host Cardinals a 27-24 lead at the half. In the third, they pushed their advantage to as many as nine, although a Jordyn Turner free throw with six seconds left pulled the Lady Mavs within six entering the fourth.
With 3:58 left in the fourth, Dean buried a 3-pointer to give Lamar a 51-44 lead. However, Smith answered back quickly on the other end with a layup to begin a 12-0 run, where a three-point play from Jacobs with 2:55 left gave the Lady Mavs their first lead since late in the first half, and Reniya Jones capped things with a pair of free throws for a 56-51 lead with 36 seconds left.
Taleyah Jones then sealed the game with four free throws in the final 30 seconds
