UTA’s Women’s Basketball Team is making moves this year. After 15 years, the Lady Mavs won the Sunbelt Conference last week and will be playing in the NCAA Tournament.
UTA has been searching for a team that would be able to take them to the NCAA Tournament again and in 2022, they found gold in their senior-heavy Lady Mavs team. The road to get to the tournament was not at all easy though.
The team had to win the Sun Belt Conference Championship to secure their spot in the Tournament. The odds may have been stacked up against them as they had to go against two-time defending champions, the Troy Trojans, but Mavs never stand down. As the underdogs of this match-up, they were able to fly under the radar and make sure they signed, sealed, and delivered the No. 14 seed in the Greensboro Region of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament. Although it was a close game, the Lady Mavs were able to beat Troy by 15 points.
“First off, I want to give credit to Troy, their program and the standard Coach (Chanda) Rigby has set,” UTA head coach Shereka Wright said. “They’re an amazingly tough team, but today, it was our day. It was our day, today.”
This win is only the third in the history of UT Arlington and will not soon be forgotten. The entire community is ecstatic and cannot wait to see the amazing work this team does at the NCAA Tournament.
The first round of the Tournament will be on March 18. The Lady Mavs will be going against the Cyclones from Iowa State. They will be playing in the Cyclones home state, and although most would think this gives Iowa State an automatic win, those of us in Arlington know to never count a Maverick down and out before you see them run.
If you would like to join a watch party, head over to the Walk On’s Sports Bistreaux at 8:30 PM on Friday, March 18th.