Jan. 2, 2009

Arlington, Texas -

Houston Baptist Game Notes

GAME THIRTEEN
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON (5-7 Overall) vs. HOUSTON BAPTIST (4-9 Overall)
Saturday, January 3, 2009
4 p.m. - Texas Hall - Arlington, Texas

SCOUTING HOUTSTON BAPTIST
- Houston Baptist enters Saturday's game with a 4-9 record and is coming off a 66-61 victory over Central Arkansas on December 29 in Houston, Texas.

- HBU was just 32.8 percent from the floor and a season worst 1-20 from three-point range in the game.

- The Huskies made up for poor shooting at the free throw line where they were 27-38.

- Senior Jelela Simpson scored a career-high 22 points while Megan Morris recorded her third double-double of the year and her second in as many games with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

- Leading HBU in scoring is Megan Morris, who leads the team with 10.3 points per game average and she is second on the squad in rebounds with an average of 6.2. She is shooting 42.4 percent from the floor and is shooting at a 68.2 percent clip from the charity stripe.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE HUSKIES
- Saturday's game against the Huskies marks the first time in UT Arlington basketball history that both squads will go head-to-head.

UT ARLINGTON AT THE TULSA HOLIDAY CLASSIC
- The Lady Mavericks recorded a first round 67-65 victory over host Tulsa University on Monday, December 29 at the Tulsa Holiday Classic.

- Four Mavs finished in double-figures including Shalyn Martin who collected 19 points and six boards in the win.

- Erin Dixon collected 15 points while Candice Champion and Meghan Nelson each added 13 points for the Mavericks.

- For the game, the Mavs finished shooting 45.5 percent from the field compared to Tulsa's 35.6 percent from the floor. UTA was outrebounded by Tulsa by a 43-31 margin but connected on 23 points off of the Golden Hurricane's 22 team turnovers.

- In day two of the Holiday Classic, UT Arlington dropped a 67-57 decision to Texas Southern on Tuesday at the Reynolds Center.

- UT Arlington struggled on both sides of the ball, as Texas Southern took an 11-point lead with 6:35 left in the first half. The Mavs managed to cut the deficit to six points but several buckets by TSU led them to a 34-21 halftime advantage.

- UTA would come within one following a LaTosha Duffey jumper at the 5:54 mark, making the score 46-45. The one-point deficit was as close as the Mavs would come, as the rest of the game was a free throw shooting contest.

- Candice Champion recorded 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, 7-of-12 from the charity stripe and added eight rebounds. Duffey finished with eight points and Meghan Nelson chipped in with eight.

- For the game, the Mavericks shot a season-low 30.4 percent (17-of-56) from the field, 11.1 percent (2-of-18) from behind the arc and 65.6 percent (21-of-32) from the free throw line.

DIXON LEADS MAVERICKS AND IS TIED IN THE SLC IN DOUBLE-DOUBLES
- Senior forward Erin Dixon leads the Mavericks and is tied with UTSA's Onika Anderson in the Southland Conference in double-doubles (points & rebounds) with five so far in the 2008-09 campaign.

- Dixon has posted double-doubles against SMU, TCU, Texas Tech, Morehead State and Rice... has recorded more than 10 rebounds in six of eight games and 15 or more rebounds in two games this season.

- The Pflugerville native also notched career-highs in points and rebounds early in the season... collected a career-high 24 points at home against Midwestern State (11/26) and 19 rebounds on the road versus Morehead State (11/30).

- Dixon leads the team in rebounding with 11.8 per game and ranks second in points per game with 13.6. Dixon ranks first in the Southland Conference in rebounding and fifth in points per game.

CHAMPION DOING IT BIG FOR MAVERICKS
- Senior Candice Champion is putting up big number for the Mavericks in her senior season. Champion has already been named Southland Conference Player of the Week for a game-high 20 point performance in UTA's season opener against SMU (11/14).

- Champion leads the Mavericks in scoring with 15.6 points per game and ranks second in rebounding with 8.5 per game. Champion also leads the Southland Conference in points per game.

- The 6-1 forward has posted nine games where she has scored in double digits and has collected three double-doubles this season.

CHAMPION NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS SEASON
- Senior Candice Champion collected 43 points, 17 rebounds and was one of four players selected to the Bahamas All-Tournament team.

- In game one against Memphis (12/18), Champion notched a game high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, 7-of-8 from the charity stripe and brought down nine boards in an 84-45 victory.

- The senior forward followed that performance with a game high 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, 8-of-12 from the free throw line and added eight rebounds in the championship game against Georgia Tech (12/20).

- Champion leads the team in shooting with 16.8 points per game and has finished in double figures in nine games this season.

CHAMPION AND MARTIN EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS
- For their efforts against Memphis and Georgia Tech at the Bahamas Tournament, senior Candice Champion and sophomore Shalyn Martin represented UTA in the all-tournament team.

- In two games, Champion complied 43 points and 17 rebounds for the Mavericks while Martin collected 21 points and 10 boards in a 1-1 record at the tournament.

- The Mavs advanced to the championship game, where they suffered a hard-fought loss to Georgia Tech, 63-56.

Tamara Simmons NAMED SOUTHLAND PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Sophomore guard Tamara Simmons was named the Southland Conference women's basketball player of the week as voted upon by the league's sports information directors. Following is a look at her performance against No. 18 Kansas State.

- Tamara Simmons recorded one of her best games of the season against national-ranked opponent and Big 12 member, Kansas State on Sunday, December 14, in Manhattan, Kan.

- Simmons led all scorers with a career-high 24 points, 17 of those points coming in the second half. Simmons finished 11-of-18 from the field, including 2-of-2 from behind the three-point line and dished out three assists in a hard-fought 73-63 loss versus Kansas State.

CHAMPION COLLECTS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS AT TULSA HOLIDAY CLASSIC
- For the second time this season senior Candice Champion was selected as one of five players to the all-tournament team.

- In game one against Tulsa, Champion recorded 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, 2-of-2 from the free throw line and added nine rebounds in 35 minutes of action.

- Champion repeated that performance with a 21-point effort against Texas Southern in day two of the Tulsa Holiday Classic.

- The 6-1 forward went 7-of-10 from the floor, 7-of-12 from the charity stripe and brought down eight rebounds for the Mavericks.

- This was the second time this season that Champion has collected all-tournament team honors. On December 20, Champion was named to the Bahamas Shootout All-Tournament Team for her efforts against Memphis and Georgia Tech.