{"id":30003,"date":"2025-10-31T21:46:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T21:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/30003\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T21:46:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T21:46:08","slug":"lady-mavs-primed-ready-for-wac-title-chase-in-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/30003\/","title":{"rendered":"Lady Mavs Primed &#038; Ready for WAC Title Chase in 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n                    &#13;<br \/>\n                        Story Links&#13;<br \/>\n                        &#13;<\/p>\n<p>                     ARLINGTON, Texas \u2013\u00a0UT Arlington women&#8217;s basketball is geared up to launch the 2025-26 season, with tip off set for Tuesday, Nov. 4, on the road against the Cougars of Houston. The Lady Mavs enter the year looking to build on their 2024-25 season which saw them fall in the Western Athletic Conference championship game as they enter the final year of the WAC before transitioning to the United Athletic Conference.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe Lady Mavs and the other WAC members are in a unique situation in 2025-26, with only seven member programs. That significantly differs from the size of most leagues across the college basketball national landscape, and provides a tremendous opportunity to win a league championship as well as the always-coveted NCAA Tournament berth that comes with it.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nUTA, led by sixth-year head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/coaches\/shereka-wright\/6917\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"6917\" target=\"_blank\">Shereka Wright<\/a>, finished 18-14 last season and fell to Grand Canyon in the WAC Championship in Las Vegas. The Lady Mavs are an impressive 43-18 at home in Wright&#8217;s tenure at the College Park Center, where they will play three of their first four games this season and 13 overall. Coach Wright has never had a losing record at home and went an astounding 12-1 last season which is the best winning percentage (.923) for the Lady Mavs at home since moving into the CPC back in 2012.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe Lady Mavs are coming off their best-ever regular season and tournament finish during their WAC tenure, entering the tourney as the third overall seed with a 10-6 regular season WAC record, before falling in the WAC Championship game to the top-seeded Grand Canyon Lopes.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nUTA competed in the WNIT for the first time since 2019 and fifth time in program history. The Lady Mavs made history by picking up their second ever postseason victory when they defeated Incarnate Word before eventually falling to North Texas.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe Lady Mavs return six total players from last season&#8217;s roster in guard&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/nya-threatt\/14018\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14018\" target=\"_blank\">Nya Threatt<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/alexsyah-goudeau\/14015\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14015\" target=\"_blank\">Alexsyah Goudeau<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/kali-haizlip\/14025\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14025\" target=\"_blank\">Kali Haizlip<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/kendal-robinson\/14621\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14621\" target=\"_blank\">Kendal Robinson<\/a> and forwards <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/miraya-perkins\/14028\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14028\" target=\"_blank\">Miraya Perkins<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/laura-bello\/14616\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14616\" target=\"_blank\">Laura Bello<\/a>. Threatt is entering her fourth season in Arlington and is the most experienced player in Coach Wright&#8217;s system with 87 appearances, 59 of those coming via starts. The floor general is coming off a career year in which she improved her point totals per game (6.6) as well as her shooting percentage from the floor (.417).<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nGoudeau along with Threatt, returns for her fourth season for the blue and orange. She has appeared in 77 games during her tenure in Arlington and has put up 200 total points while grabbing 127 rebounds in those three seasons. Goudeau was fifth on the team in steals a season ago, finishing the year with 28 to go along with eight blocks.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe lone all-conference selection returning for the Lady Mavs from a season ago, Robinson looks to build upon her All-WAC Freshman Team honor. In the WAC Tournament, she had her best scoring output of the season in the semifinals against Tarleton State, finishing with 11 points and had the dagger three pointer that gave the Lady Mavs the lead which they never relinquished in the fourth.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nJunior forward Perkins looks to play an increased role in the upcoming season, having come off the bench the majority of the past two seasons. She has appeared in 59 games during her two seasons in Arlington. For her career, Perkins is shooting nearly 50-percent from the floor, going an impressive .452 from the field through two seasons.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nSenior guard Haizlip enters her third season in Arlington with 59 appearances under her belt. In her first two seasons in the blue and orange, she has played valuable minutes off the bench for the Lady Mavs, averaging 2.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.6 minutes per game.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nBello enters her second year at UTA and looks to play an impact role on the defensive side of the ball for the Lady Mavs after missing all of last season due to injury. Prior to her time in Arlington, Bello was an All-Big Sky performer at Idaho State.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nWith the six familiar faces, the Lady Mavs added five players in the transfer portal, and one true freshman. Of the five transfers, two come from the high-major ranks, in guard <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/amiyah-reynolds\/14623\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14623\" target=\"_blank\">Amiyah Reynolds<\/a> (Purdue) and forward <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/mila-reynolds\/14624\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14624\" target=\"_blank\">Mila Reynolds<\/a> (Purdue). UTA also added guard <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/jadyn-atchison\/14626\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14626\" target=\"_blank\">Jadyn Atchison<\/a> from Old Dominion, guard <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/erin-sellers\/14742\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14742\" target=\"_blank\">Erin Sellers<\/a> from Menlo College and center <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/jeanne-rodriguez\/14635\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14635\" target=\"_blank\">Jeanne Rodriguez<\/a> from Salt Lake Community College.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/amiyah-reynolds\/14623\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14623\" target=\"_blank\">Amiyah Reynolds<\/a> comes to UTA from Purdue, where she appeared in 23 games last season, starting in eight. She played 19 minutes and recorded two points, seven rebounds and a block when the Lady Mavs visited West Lafayette.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/mila-reynolds\/14624\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14624\" target=\"_blank\">Mila Reynolds<\/a> joins the Lady Mavs after stops at Maryland and Purdue and is returning from an injury that sidelined her all of last season. She has appeared in 49 games across both stops, and appeared in an Elite Eight back during the 2022-23 season while at Maryland.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nAtchison, the Cedar Hill, Texas native, returns to her home state after stops at Colorado and Old Dominion. While at Colorado during the 2023-24 season, she recorded six points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 11 minutes of action when the Lady Mavs visited Boulder.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nAfter a phenomenal junior college career at Salt Lake Community College, Rodriguez joins the Lady Mavs looking to replicate her two-year stint in Utah. Last season, she was a First Team All-Scenic West selection after averaging 7.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 19.8 minutes per game for the Bruins.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nRedshirt-sophomore Sellers comes to UTA from Menlo College. The Oakland, California native averaged 8.2 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 14.1 minutes per contest last season for the Oaks.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe lone true freshman is the highly touted forward, <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/kira-reynolds\/14625\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14625\" target=\"_blank\">Kira Reynolds<\/a>, from South Bend Washington High School. An ESPN top-100 recruit comes to UTA as the highest rated recruit in program history after an outstanding prep career. She is the first student-athlete, male or female, to record a quintuple-double in the state of Indiana when she finished with 14 points, 18 rebounds, 12 assists, 11 steals and 10 blocks in a contest against New Prairie. Reynolds finished her high school career with the most blocks in the state of Indiana&#8217;s history. She joins her sisters, Mila and Amiyah, at UTA.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe Lady Mavs will look different on the court, certainly in terms of length, as this may be the tallest the Lady Mavs have been during Coach Wright&#8217;s tenure with six players registering at 6 foot or taller.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nUTA opens the season with three of their first four games at home in the friendly confines of the College Park Center. The season starts on the road at Houston on November 4 before returning to Arlington for three straight home games, starting with Missouri State on November 7. On November 11 the Lady Mavs welcome Wyoming to the CPC before welcoming Tennessee State on November 14. UTA then will make the long trip to Hawaii for the Hawaii North Shore Showcase where they take on Colorado (Nov. 22), Texas A&amp;M (Nov. 24) and ending with VCU (Nov. 25).<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe Lady Mavs stay on the road for their next two games when they return from Hawaii, starting with Little Rock (Dec. 2) before travelling to Houston to battle Rice (Dec. 12). UTA&#8217;s final non-conference home game takes place on December 17 when they take on Texas Southern. The Lady Mavs wrap up the non-conference slate with a trip to Baton Rouge to take on the Tigers of LSU (Dec. 21).<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThen comes the league slate, which looks a bit different than it has in the past, thanks in part to the seven-team membership. UTA will play each of the other six schools three times each for a total of 18 league contests before the WAC Championships in Las Vegas at the Orleans from March 11-14. The Mavs get Abilene Christian, Utah Tech and Utah Valley at home twice, while they travel to Tarleton State, Southern Utah and California Baptist twice.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nSeason tickets are still on sale, starting at just $50 for all 13 home games at the state-of-the-art College Park Center.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nSingle game tickets are also available now and you can secure those along with season tickets at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/utatickets.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">UTATickets.com<\/a>.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nCourtside seating is also available through the Maverick Club, featuring one row along each baseline (excluding team benches). For more information, contact <a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/staff-directory\/emma-hudspeth\/3613\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"3613\" target=\"_blank\">Emma Hudspeth<\/a>, Director of the Maverick Club, at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/utamavs.com\/news\/2025\/10\/31\/mailto:emma.hudspeth@uta.edu\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">emma.hudspeth@uta.edu<\/a>\u00a0or call 817-272-3856.<br \/>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 #BuckEm \u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<br \/>\nFOLLOW ALONG<br \/>\nFor updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the women&#8217;s basketball program on X (formally known as Twitter) (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UTAMavsWBB\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@UTAMavsWBB<\/a>), Instagram (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/utamavswbb\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@UTAMavsWBB<\/a>) and Facebook (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UTAMavsWBB\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\/UTAMavsWBB<\/a>).<br \/>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>                <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; Story Links&#13; &#13; ARLINGTON, Texas \u2013\u00a0UT Arlington women&#8217;s basketball is geared up to launch the 2025-26 season,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151],"class_list":{"0":"post-30003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arlington","8":"tag-arlington","9":"tag-arlington-headlines","10":"tag-arlington-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}