STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State Women’s Basketball once again fed off the Wisdom Gym energy and defeated in-state conference foe UT Arlington 67-57 on Saturday for its 18th win of the season.
Saturday’s win allowed the Texans to move into second place in the Western Athletic Conference standings and be in the driver’s seat for the No. 2 seed at the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.
After scoring a season-high 28 points at UTA in the conference opener on Jan. 4, senior guard Arieona Rosborough had another strong performance against the Lady Mavericks with 17 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore center Faith Acker recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds while senior guard Jakoriah Long added 10 points in the Texans’ win.
“UTA came out and did what I thought they would do, but our kids have been through the fire and they came through when they had to,” head coach Bill Brock said. “We made a lot of good things happen today and I thought our effort was really good. Jakoriah made some big shots, Miannah played 40 minutes today and Faith had one of her best games in a while.
“Arieona had another huge game for us and she was somebody we were able to lean on down the stretch. She continues to show why she is one of the best newcomers in the league. Kyriana gave us another big lift off the bench today, especially on defense guarding [UTA forward Koi] Love. She was guarding someone that is not her primary position and I thought she gave us huge minutes today. This win is very rewarding for our players and our coaches.”
UTA responded to an Acker jumper by going on a 7-0 scoring run to take the lead early in the first quarter. A Long 3-pointer and a jumper from junior guard Kyriana Jones trimmed the early deficit, with a beyond the arc bucket from senior guard Niki Van Wyk allowing the Texans to swing the advantage. The Lady Mavericks scored on three of their final four possessions in the opening period to take a 20-17 lead.
Jumpers from senior forward Alani Fluker and Jones allowed the Texans to retake the lead to open the second quarter, but UTA quickly responded with a layup 15 seconds later. Fluker tied the game up with a layup after a pair of UTA free throws, igniting a Texan scoring run that swung the momentum.
Sparked by the scoring of Rosborough and Acker, the Texans went on a 9-0 scoring run to extend their lead with one minute left in the first half. The Texans held UTA to just one made basket off 10 shot attempts in the second quarter to take a 36-29 lead into the locker room.
UTA came out firing in the second half, opening the third quarter with a 3-pointer and knocking down two baskets to tie the game at 40. The Lady Mavericks answered again after a basket from the Texans, hitting a jumper with 3:31 left in the third period to make it 42 all.
Weathering the quick UTA storm, Tarleton State did not let the lead slip away. Senior guard Miannah Little knocked down a jumper and assisted on a Rosborough layup to put the Texans in front 48-44. The Texans did not allow UTA to score for the final three and a half minutes of the third period to maintain its four-point lead.
Shooting 50% in the final period, the Texans never relinquished the lead and never looked back. Jones found Acker after breaking UTA’s defensive press, with the sophomore center converting the layup to put the Texans in front by double-digits. The Texans hit five of their final six free throws to secure its 18th win.
Tarleton State goes on the road for round two of the I-20 rivalry on Thursday, traveling to Abilene Christian for a 6 p.m. showdown.
Postgame Notes
- Tarleton State picked up its first win against UT Arlington in the Division I Era, defeating the Lady Mavericks 67-57 on Saturday at Wisdom Gym. The win put Tarleton State in second place in the WAC standings.
- The Texans picked up its 12th win of the season at Wisdom Gym, the most in the Division I Era. It is the most wins at Wisdom Gym since the 2018-19 season.
- Senior guard Arieona Rosborough had her 19th game with at least 10 points, scoring 17 on Saturday to lead the Texans. Rosborough had a season-high 28 points in Tarleton State’s last meeting at UTA on Jan. 4.
- Sophomore center Faith Acker recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. This was Acker’s first double-double of the 2025 calendar year.
- Senior guard Miannah Little played all 40 minutes on Saturday. It is the second time in WAC play a Tarleton State player played all 40 minutes (Arieona Rosborough vs. GCU, Jan. 18, 2025).
- The attendance of 1,387 was the largest crowd at Wisdom Gym for a women’s basketball game this season. It was the highest-attended women’s basketball game at Wisdom Gym since Feb. 1, 2024 (1,555 vs. Abilene Christian).
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