Thursday, December 19
Dallas, Texas
5 p.m.
SMU
vs
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UTEP
Photo by: Vladimir Cherry
SMU Hosts Former Conference Rival UTEP Thursday Night
Dec 17 | Women's Basketball
SMU (4-4) vs. UTEP (7-2)
Dec. 19, 2019 – 5 p.m.
Dallas, Texas | Moody Coliseum
PonyUp TV | Live Stats | Radio
Game Notes
Â
SMU Social Apps
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SMU faces former conference rival UTEPÂ Thursday in Moody Coliseum at 5 p.m. The two teams faced each other as conference foes from 1996 until 2013, when SMU joined the American Athletic Conference. This is the first meeting in the series since Nov. 16, 2014, when the Mustangs won 63-59 in Moody Coliseum.Â
YOUTH LEADS TO EXPERIENCE
• SMU returns three starters and seven total letterwinners from last season's squad. A year ago, the Mustangs had one of the two youngest team in the country based on average age. This season's returners accounted for more than half of the minutes played a year ago, and the three starters all averaged more than 29 minutes. A year ago, SMU started the season with seven freshmen. This season, the roster lists three freshmen, including one redshirt freshman. While the roster features no seniors, juniors Ariana Whitfield and Johnasia Cash have taken up the leadership torch.
GROWING PAINS
• SMU finished 11-19 overall last season and 5-11 in The American. The Mustangs won three of their last four conference games, two by a combined five points, finishing 8-8 in Moody Coliseum. SMU also earned its first win against perennially-ranked USF, taking a 46-44 victory at home.Â
RECRUITING YOUNG STARS
• Two seasons ago, Ariana Whitfield, a member of head coach Travis Mays' first signing class, was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team. For her career, the guard is averaging seven points and three assists per game, and Whitfield led SMU with 42 steals last year. Last season, Kayla White was named to the all-freshman team after leading SMU with 11.4 points per game. She was second on the roster with 38 steals, and shot 33.3 percent from the field. This season, Mays added Arkansas Player of the Year and state champion Reagan Bradley to the squad.
MOODY MAGIC
• SMU is 376-236 at home all-time. Travis Mays has led the Mustangs to a 31-19 record in Moody Coliseum, winning 61 percent of home games. This season, SMU has 17 home games, including nine of 12 non-conference games.Â
LAST TIME OUT
• SMU outscored North Dakota 47-22 in the second half to win 66-51 on Dec. 9. Kayla White matched her career high with 22 points to lead the Mustangs, scoring 16 in the second half. Johnasia Cash posted her fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 16 rebounds en route to The American Player of the Week honors.Â
NEXT ON THE SLATE
• SMU plays at UT Arlington Sunday in just its second away contest of the season.Â
• The all-time series is tied, 16-16.
• UTA won the last three contests.Â
• UTA is 6-4 at home in the series.
• Tip time is set for 2 p.m.
KAYLA WHITE
As a freshman, Kayla White started 28 games and played in all 30 contests. The guard led the team in scoring with 11.4 points per game, more than a point more than senior Alicia Froling, who finished her career with more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She scored a season-high 22 points at Rice, and finished with at least 10 points in 20 games. White shot 33.3 percent from the field and made 32 3-point attempts. She also had 40 assists and averaged 3.6 rebounds. In her first game of the season against TCU, White scored five points with five rebounds with a steal and a block. White dropped 21 points on Wright State including 15 in the second half and followed it up with another 20-point performance against North Dakota.Â
ARIANA WHITFIELD
Ariana Whitfield scored a season-high nine points in the opening win against McNeese. Last season, she played in all 30 games, with 25 starts during her sophomore campaign. She led the team with 98 assists, while averaging 7.1 points per game. Whitfield scored a career-high 24 points in a win at Tulane, and handed out nine assists against Robert Morris, also a career high. Whitfield scored at least 10 points seven times last season.
JOHNASIA CASH
Johnasia Cash is nearly averaging a double-double with 11.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories. Cash also tops the team in blocks and posted four-block nights against Wright State and North Dakota. Cash was named Conference Player of the Week after a 18-point, 16-rebound performance against North Dakota. Â Last season, she increased her averages in both points, 6.5, and rebounds, 6.7, in her second season on the Hilltop, while averaging just under 20 minutes a game. She scored a season-high 14 points three times, and reached double digits six times. Cash was second on the team with 27 blocks, and also had 26 steals.
PAIGE BAYLISS
Paige Bayliss is averaging 5.4 points per game and shooting 48.7 percent from the floor. She scored nine points against Northern Colorado. She scored eight points each in two of the last three games, and has 16 rebounds over the past four games.
AMBER BACON
Amber Bacon is fourth on the team with 9.8 points per game this season to go aloing with 4.5 rebounds per game. She leads the team with 18 steals. Bacon is hitting 79.4 percent from the line. Last season, Bacon played in 18 games with 12 starts, missing some time due to injury during her freshman season. The guard was second on the team with 53 assists, and third on the team with 8.5 points per game. She shot 34.8 percent from the field and had 27 steals.
BRISHONNE TOLLIE
Brishonne Tollie is third on the team with 10.0 points per game, shooting 39.1 percent from the field. She is averaging 8.4 rebounds. She has scored at least 10 in five of the first eight games, including a career-high 19 points against Rice. Last season, she averaged 3.6 points per game, shooting 35.4 percent from the field. She also grabbed 2.8 rebounds and had 19 steals.
JAQUIA WHITE
Last season, JaQuia White averaged 2.3 points with 1.7 rebounds, and finished with 45 assists. She also had 18 steals and four blocks. Through eight games this season, White is averaging 4.3 points with 12 assists. She scored a career-high 13 points against McNeese.
REAGAN BRADLEY
Reagan Bradley scored 13 points in her collegiate debut, and recorded eight assists, second all-time by a freshman at SMU. She is averaging 7.4 points with a 31.6 shooting percentage. She is averaging 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists through eight games. In the win over North Dakota, Bradley contributed seven assists to go along with nine rebounds.
SIGNING DAY
Three-time state champion Rhyle McKinney, all-state guard Tamia Jones and point guard Jayla Brooks, the 2018-19 District 10-6A Offensive Player of the Year, make up the SMU 2020 freshman class.
RHYLE McKINNEY
McKinney averaged 23.9 points with 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 steals as a junior. She was named Texas Class 1A-4A Player of the Year by the Texas Girls Coaches Association after leading Argyle to a 32-7 record, which included the program's fifth consecutive Class 4A state championship. McKinney was named to the all-state, all-area and all-district teams.
TAMIA JONES
Jones was named to the all-state team after a stellar year at The Colony High School, where she led her team to the Class 5A Region I semifinals. She scored 14 points in a 68-66 loss to eventual state champion Amarillo, averaging 16.2 points and 4.7 assists for the season.
JAYLA BROOKS
As a junior, Brooks led Sachse to the Texas 6A Region II quarterfinals before a one-point loss to eventual state semifinalist Allen, 49-48. She is a three-time first-team all-district selection. During her sophomore year, Brooks led Sachse to one of the most prolific comeback wins in program history. Trailing Pflugerville Hendrickson 27-4 in the second quarter of the 2018 Class 6A Region II semifinal, Brooks aided in the comeback to send Sachse to just its second region final in school history.
Dec. 19, 2019 – 5 p.m.
Dallas, Texas | Moody Coliseum
PonyUp TV | Live Stats | Radio
Game Notes
Â
SMU Social Apps
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
SMU Mobile App
Apple | Google Play
SMU faces former conference rival UTEPÂ Thursday in Moody Coliseum at 5 p.m. The two teams faced each other as conference foes from 1996 until 2013, when SMU joined the American Athletic Conference. This is the first meeting in the series since Nov. 16, 2014, when the Mustangs won 63-59 in Moody Coliseum.Â
YOUTH LEADS TO EXPERIENCE
• SMU returns three starters and seven total letterwinners from last season's squad. A year ago, the Mustangs had one of the two youngest team in the country based on average age. This season's returners accounted for more than half of the minutes played a year ago, and the three starters all averaged more than 29 minutes. A year ago, SMU started the season with seven freshmen. This season, the roster lists three freshmen, including one redshirt freshman. While the roster features no seniors, juniors Ariana Whitfield and Johnasia Cash have taken up the leadership torch.
GROWING PAINS
• SMU finished 11-19 overall last season and 5-11 in The American. The Mustangs won three of their last four conference games, two by a combined five points, finishing 8-8 in Moody Coliseum. SMU also earned its first win against perennially-ranked USF, taking a 46-44 victory at home.Â
RECRUITING YOUNG STARS
• Two seasons ago, Ariana Whitfield, a member of head coach Travis Mays' first signing class, was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team. For her career, the guard is averaging seven points and three assists per game, and Whitfield led SMU with 42 steals last year. Last season, Kayla White was named to the all-freshman team after leading SMU with 11.4 points per game. She was second on the roster with 38 steals, and shot 33.3 percent from the field. This season, Mays added Arkansas Player of the Year and state champion Reagan Bradley to the squad.
MOODY MAGIC
• SMU is 376-236 at home all-time. Travis Mays has led the Mustangs to a 31-19 record in Moody Coliseum, winning 61 percent of home games. This season, SMU has 17 home games, including nine of 12 non-conference games.Â
LAST TIME OUT
• SMU outscored North Dakota 47-22 in the second half to win 66-51 on Dec. 9. Kayla White matched her career high with 22 points to lead the Mustangs, scoring 16 in the second half. Johnasia Cash posted her fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 16 rebounds en route to The American Player of the Week honors.Â
NEXT ON THE SLATE
• SMU plays at UT Arlington Sunday in just its second away contest of the season.Â
• The all-time series is tied, 16-16.
• UTA won the last three contests.Â
• UTA is 6-4 at home in the series.
• Tip time is set for 2 p.m.
KAYLA WHITE
As a freshman, Kayla White started 28 games and played in all 30 contests. The guard led the team in scoring with 11.4 points per game, more than a point more than senior Alicia Froling, who finished her career with more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She scored a season-high 22 points at Rice, and finished with at least 10 points in 20 games. White shot 33.3 percent from the field and made 32 3-point attempts. She also had 40 assists and averaged 3.6 rebounds. In her first game of the season against TCU, White scored five points with five rebounds with a steal and a block. White dropped 21 points on Wright State including 15 in the second half and followed it up with another 20-point performance against North Dakota.Â
ARIANA WHITFIELD
Ariana Whitfield scored a season-high nine points in the opening win against McNeese. Last season, she played in all 30 games, with 25 starts during her sophomore campaign. She led the team with 98 assists, while averaging 7.1 points per game. Whitfield scored a career-high 24 points in a win at Tulane, and handed out nine assists against Robert Morris, also a career high. Whitfield scored at least 10 points seven times last season.
JOHNASIA CASH
Johnasia Cash is nearly averaging a double-double with 11.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories. Cash also tops the team in blocks and posted four-block nights against Wright State and North Dakota. Cash was named Conference Player of the Week after a 18-point, 16-rebound performance against North Dakota. Â Last season, she increased her averages in both points, 6.5, and rebounds, 6.7, in her second season on the Hilltop, while averaging just under 20 minutes a game. She scored a season-high 14 points three times, and reached double digits six times. Cash was second on the team with 27 blocks, and also had 26 steals.
PAIGE BAYLISS
Paige Bayliss is averaging 5.4 points per game and shooting 48.7 percent from the floor. She scored nine points against Northern Colorado. She scored eight points each in two of the last three games, and has 16 rebounds over the past four games.
AMBER BACON
Amber Bacon is fourth on the team with 9.8 points per game this season to go aloing with 4.5 rebounds per game. She leads the team with 18 steals. Bacon is hitting 79.4 percent from the line. Last season, Bacon played in 18 games with 12 starts, missing some time due to injury during her freshman season. The guard was second on the team with 53 assists, and third on the team with 8.5 points per game. She shot 34.8 percent from the field and had 27 steals.
BRISHONNE TOLLIE
Brishonne Tollie is third on the team with 10.0 points per game, shooting 39.1 percent from the field. She is averaging 8.4 rebounds. She has scored at least 10 in five of the first eight games, including a career-high 19 points against Rice. Last season, she averaged 3.6 points per game, shooting 35.4 percent from the field. She also grabbed 2.8 rebounds and had 19 steals.
JAQUIA WHITE
Last season, JaQuia White averaged 2.3 points with 1.7 rebounds, and finished with 45 assists. She also had 18 steals and four blocks. Through eight games this season, White is averaging 4.3 points with 12 assists. She scored a career-high 13 points against McNeese.
REAGAN BRADLEY
Reagan Bradley scored 13 points in her collegiate debut, and recorded eight assists, second all-time by a freshman at SMU. She is averaging 7.4 points with a 31.6 shooting percentage. She is averaging 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists through eight games. In the win over North Dakota, Bradley contributed seven assists to go along with nine rebounds.
SIGNING DAY
Three-time state champion Rhyle McKinney, all-state guard Tamia Jones and point guard Jayla Brooks, the 2018-19 District 10-6A Offensive Player of the Year, make up the SMU 2020 freshman class.
RHYLE McKINNEY
McKinney averaged 23.9 points with 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 steals as a junior. She was named Texas Class 1A-4A Player of the Year by the Texas Girls Coaches Association after leading Argyle to a 32-7 record, which included the program's fifth consecutive Class 4A state championship. McKinney was named to the all-state, all-area and all-district teams.
TAMIA JONES
Jones was named to the all-state team after a stellar year at The Colony High School, where she led her team to the Class 5A Region I semifinals. She scored 14 points in a 68-66 loss to eventual state champion Amarillo, averaging 16.2 points and 4.7 assists for the season.
JAYLA BROOKS
As a junior, Brooks led Sachse to the Texas 6A Region II quarterfinals before a one-point loss to eventual state semifinalist Allen, 49-48. She is a three-time first-team all-district selection. During her sophomore year, Brooks led Sachse to one of the most prolific comeback wins in program history. Trailing Pflugerville Hendrickson 27-4 in the second quarter of the 2018 Class 6A Region II semifinal, Brooks aided in the comeback to send Sachse to just its second region final in school history.
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Players Mentioned
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