Junior guard Jadyn Atchison dribbles toward the basket during a game against the University of New Mexico on Oct. 28 at College Park Center. Atchison is one of the new players on the team, coming from Old Dominion University.
The UTA women’s basketball team is scheduled to play 30 games in the 2025-26 regular season as the squad transitions into a new roster, with only around half of last year’s players returning, including just one starter.
“Experience is a major factor as you go into each year. What you try to do is build off of their strengths and then continue to build on the things that we got to continue to improve on,” head coach Shereka Wright said.
Last year, the Mavericks went 10-6 in conference play, had a 12-1 overall home record, appeared in the Western Athletic Conference tournament finals and went to the second round of the postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
Of the 12 Mavericks on the current roster, six played for UTA last year, five transferred from colleges outside of Texas and one joined as a true freshman.
Only one of those returners, Nya Threatt, was a starter last year, meaning the other four positions are empty. To Wright, those spots are anyone’s game right now.
“It’s kind of up for grabs of where everybody is, and so we got some time to be able to see that,” Wright said, “Right now, I couldn’t tell you who that is, but what I do like is that we have a lot of depth.”
Head coach Shereka Wright talks to the team during a practice Oct. 20 at College Park Center. Wright said senior guards Kali Haizlip and Nya Threatt are leaders this season.
Wright also said that the team found some leaders, both among its newcomers and returners. Specifically, she pointed out senior guards Kali Haizlip and Nya Threatt, plus redshirt junior forward Mila Reynolds.
“Kali has done a really good job of being able to be in a different role,” Wright said. “Being able to be the most vocal leader that we’ve had.”
“Mila Reynolds has stepped in, obviously, from a player who has been at two powerful institutions and been able to come here, she gives a different perspective from that as well,” she said.
UTA lost its exhibition game at home against the University of New Mexico 79-56 Tuesday. The team will look for redemption as its regular season begins on the road against the University of Houston at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. After, the Mavericks will go on a three-game homestand, playing Missouri State University, the University of Wyoming and Tennessee State University.
The amount of well-known programs UTA will play against may come as a challenge, but Wright thinks the Mavericks are ready for it. She said it’s important to prepare and put the team through different tests before big games.
Junior center Jeanne Rodriguez attempts to pass the ball during a practice Oct. 20 at College Park Center. Rodriguez is coming from Salt Lake Community College as a new addition to the team.
“This is the beauty of women’s basketball right now. It’s a lot of parity in our game. And so I don’t feel like there’s ever a time where you feel like you can just blow out teams,” Wright said.
With two teams leaving the WAC last offseason, the schedule is forced to compensate by having each team play each other three times instead of two. This also extends the conference season from 16 to 18 games.
“I think every team is circled right now because we have seven teams,” Wright said on the new-look WAC. “But I think from top to bottom now, what you’re going to find out, especially if you’re having to play these teams three times, that each time that you’re playing them, you have to be very good at certain things, because teams are going to scout you. They’re going to know what you want to do.”
Every WAC team then heads into the conference tournament in Las Vegas. The winner of that gets to appear in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament. If you ask Wright, that’s a goal for the Mavericks, but not the main goal.
“Ultimately, it’s always about winning a championship. I think that’s every team. I think the biggest thing is along the way, one, me as a head coach, how do I coach a different team compared to last year,” Wright said. “The other thing is how do I continue to get the best versions of each player out of them to make sure that they can be together so we can compete and play the way we need to play.”
@TyRoland06