Junior guard Brody Robinson yells orders on the court during the Western Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal against Grand Canyon University on March 12 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Junior guard Brody Robinson yells orders on the court during the Western Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal against Grand Canyon University on March 12 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
UTA’s basketball teams traveled to Las Vegas in hopes of cutting down the nets and being the group to represent the Western Athletic Conference in the NCAA Tournament.
Although the Lady Mavericks’ dream of a WAC Tournament championship fell four points short, the team is not done playing basketball.
Moments after falling to Grand Canyon University in the title game, head coach Shereka Wright hinted at more postseason play. On Monday, the Women’s National Invitation Tournament announced UTA as one of 48 teams to compete.
The Lady Mavericks will host the University of the Incarnate Word at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at College Park Center.
The team had a historic season at home, going 11-1, the best home record since the 2006-07 season and the best percentage under Wright.
It was a season of streaks for the Lady Mavericks. After starting the season 4-6, they went on a four-game winning streak, including their first three conference games and a historic win against Wiley University, scoring 113 points — the most in program history.
After a blemish against Utah Valley University, UTA won its next six games, winning the first nine of 10 conference games.
Fifth-year forward Koi Love was a catalyst in the team’s success. The University of Southern California transfer added to an already experienced team, having previously played at bigger schools.
Months of gritty wins, tough losses and hardships came down to a short few days in Las Vegas as the teams competed for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Find a timeline of the team’s run here.
Love led the team in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game, 6.8 rebounds and 96 total assists. She also led the team in steals and set a WAC record for the most newcomer of the week awards, totaling nine.
Following the impressive stretch, the Lady Mavericks dealt with adversity as the season ended. The team went through a tough spiral, losing five games in a row. However, the team didn’t panic, knowing it had a chance to do something it had never done since rejoining the WAC: defeat California Baptist University.
The Lady Mavericks celebrated Senior Day by beating CBU, who knocked them out of the WAC Tournament last season. The cycle wouldn’t end there as UTA played CBU in this year’s tournament quarterfinals. The Lady Mavericks didn’t want it any other way.
“Getting beat by Cal Baptist in the semis, it hurt,” fifth-year forward Avery Brittingham said. “Getting a chance to play them, first round, again, it feels good. Especially coming off of our win.”
The Lady Mavericks avenged themselves against the Lancers in their opening round.
Before stepping into Las Vegas, four individuals were honored with conference accolades. Love and Brittingham were named two of the conference’s best players, making the All-WAC first team. Senior guard Aspen Thornton was named the WAC’s co-sixth player of the year, and freshman guard Kendal Robinson was named to the conference’s freshman team.
Following a win against Tarleton State University in the semifinals, UTA earned the right to play in the WAC Tournament championship. However, facing the nation’s hottest team, they came up just short of the ultimate goal.
“Doubters — we had it all season long,” Wright said following the team’s loss. “I’m gonna defend my group today because they played their butts off. Everybody doubted them all season long. We went through our adversity and they competed today.”
Men’s basketball’s season has come and gone. Fresh off last season’s berth in the WAC Tournament championship game, the team hoped to get over the hump this year.
After finishing 13-17 in the regular season, UTA earned No. 7 in the WAC Tournament, barely avoiding the play-in game between No. 8 and No. 9. The seeding matched them with GCU, the team that ended their NCAA Tournament hopes a year ago and in the first round of this year’s tournament.
UTA’s basketball teams sought a seat in the NCAA Tournament, but neither secured their spot after tightly-contested match ups.
“It was a disappointing loss to us,” head coach K.T. Turner said following the team’s loss. “I felt like we competed a lot better in the second half, but it was disappointing for sure.”
The season was full of highs and lows for the Mavericks. Of all nonconference games to start the season, one stood out.
UTA traveled to Los Angeles in November to face USC, a Power Four school. Despite losing by three points, the Mavericks’ competitiveness inspired fans to see the team’s potential.
Similar to the women’s team, the men succeeded at home with a 9-4 record at CPC, highlighted by the Pack the Park campaign against TSU on Feb. 22.
The Mavericks dealt with roster reconstruction a year removed from Turner’s first season. Senior guard Brandyn Talbot and sophomore guard Kade Douglas were the only returners from last season’s team.
Of the newcomers was graduate forward Lance Ware, who was consistently one of UTA’s best players, earning him a second-team All-WAC nod and being named to the conference’s all-defensive team.
The Mavericks weren’t able to overcome closing the regular season on a three-game losing streak in the tournament’s opening round.
Turner said he appreciated his team for going to battle with him through thick and thin.
“They could have quit a couple of times during the season and never quit on me. I really appreciate that,” he said.
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