Dec. 16, 2008

Arlington, Texas -

Game Notes - UT Arlington vs. Memphis

GAME #9
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON (3-5 Overall) vs MEMPHIS (5-5 Overall)
Thursday, December 18, 2008
7 p.m. - Kendal Issacs Gymnasium - Nassau, Bahamas

SCOUTING MEMPHIS
- The Mavericks will have a first round match-up against Conference USA opponent-Memphis at the Bahamas Sunsplash Tournament on Thursday, December 18.

- The Tigers are coming off a 81-49 setback against an undefeated Mississippi State (7-0) team on Sunday, December 14 at Starkville, Miss. Memphis has dropped three of its last five games this season.

- Against Mississippi State, the Tigers finished the game shooting 36.7 percent from the field to the Bulldog's 44.1 percent from the floor. Memphis struggled controlling the basketball, converting 31 team turnovers to Mississippi's' 17.

- Memphis's leading scorer Paris Leonard finished with a game high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 1-of-3 from behind the arc and 3-of-5 from the free throw line, to go along with four rebounds and one steal. Leonard leads the team in scoring with 17.6 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE TIGERS
- Thursday night marks the second time in UT Arlington women's basketball history that the Mavericks and Tigers will go head-to-head. The Tigers own a 1-0 advantage over the Mavs.

- The last meeting was in Arlington where Memphis cruised to a 90-69 victory on January 28, 1985.

UT ARLINGTON AT NO. 18 KANSAS STATE
- On Sunday, December 14, the Mavericks dropped a 73-63 decision to No. 18 Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan.

- Tamara Simmons led all scorers with a game high 24 point performance, collecting 17 of her points in the second half. Simmons finished shooting 11-of-18 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from three-point range and added three assists in 40 minutes of action.

- UTA shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52) from the field to K-State's 43.3 percent (29-of-67) from the floor. The Mavs were outrebounded by the Wildcats by a 41-31 margin but managed to control their turnover ratio by only committing 16.

- Shalee Lehning led the Wildcats with 21 points while adding seven rebounds, nine assists and four steals.

- With the loss, UT Arlington fell to 3-5 on the season while Kansas State remained a perfect 9-0.

DIXON LEADS MAVERICKS AND SLC IN DOUBLE-DOUBLES
- Senior forward Erin Dixon leads the Mavericks and 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 seven games where she has scored in double digits and has collected three double-doubles this season.

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.