SMU (7-10, 0-5 ACC) vs Virginia Tech (13-5, 3-3 ACC)
David B. Miller Court at Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
Thursday, January 15, 2026 – 6:30 p.m. CT
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DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's basketball team continues its 50^th season in program history by hosting Virginia Tech in an ACC Thursday night showdown inside Moody Coliseum.

The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT and air on ACCNX.  Fans can also listen to the game on the SMU Mobile App or follow along via live stats found here.

Fans can enjoy Thirsty Thursday at Moody Coliseum as all drinks will be half off during the game. The first 250 fans will receive an SMU women's basketball bucket hat and can enter a raffle for a chance to win a Nespresso Verturo Plus Coffee Maker. Single-game tickets for the 2025-26 season are available now and can be purchased here. For the first time this season, fans can also purchase an 8-Game Flex Pass. Use all eight at one game or spread them out however you like across the season.
More information on all ticket options can be found here. For any ticket questions, please contact 214-SMU-GAME or email tickets@smu.edu.

SMU finished its non-conference slate with a record of 7-5, winning its final six non-conference games. SMU is still searching for its first ACC win of the season after falling on the road to NC State last time out.

SMU enters the game with five players averaging at least nine points per game, Tyi Skinner (13.6), Zahra King (13.6), Paulina Paris (10.7), Sahnya Jah (9.7) and Kyla Deck (10.1).

King leads SMU in points scored with 231 total points and has recorded 10 games scoring in double figures, including back-to-back 20-point performances against Georgia Tech (21) and NC State (22). She is averaging 15.6 ppg in ACC play.

King has been incredibly efficient, shooting 51.1% from the field, and is the only guard in the ACC to shoot over 50% this season. She ranks eighth overall in the ACC in field goal percentage.

Paulina Paris is averaging 12.0 points per game in ACC play and is coming off scoring a season high 20 points against Louisville, her fourth career 20-point game.

On offense, SMU ranks sixth the ACC / 59^th in the NCAA in bench points per game (23.4). SMU has had six games with 30+ points off the bench, including a season-high of 38 against Arkansas. SMU has also had eight games with over 30 points in the paint this season, with the most recent occurrence against Southern (30).

SMU's defense has been causing havoc for other teams this season as the Mustangs rank third in the ACC / 49th in the NCAA in steals per game at 10.8. SMU also ranks sixth in the ACC / 59^th in the NCAA in blocks per game (4.3) and sixth in the ACC in turnovers forced per game (17.8).

Kyla Deck has been a force on defense, ranking second in the ACC in total steals with 49 (23^rd in the NCAA) and second in the ACC in steals per game with 3.7 (9^th in the NCAA). Deck is coming off her tying her career high with seven steals against Southern. She has had three games this season with six or more steals.

SMU is fourth in the ACC in total steals with 184 and has recorded double-digit steals in 11 games this season, most since the 2019-20 season (13). SMU is coming off recording 14 steals against Georgia Tech and 10 against NC State. The team's 84 steals in the first seven games were the most since the team had 89 during the 2012-13 season.

SMU is 7-10 under head coach  Adia Barnes. Barnes, a former WBCA Coach of the Year Finalist and Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalist, was named Head Women's Basketball Coach at SMU on April 5.

As SMU enters year two in the ACC, it will do so with an entirely new roster and coaching staff, signing 15 new players ahead of the 2025-26 season. Of the 15, eight players transferred in from a Power 4 institution. The Mustangs will also be one of the more experienced teams in the nation, having added eight seniors/graduate students to the roster this season.

// THE MATCH UP

• SMU enters the game 0-5 in ACC play, while Virginia Tech is 3-3 in conference play, defeating Boston College at home last time out.  The Hokies are 2-2 on the road this season, while SMU is 5-4 at home.  
• Sunday's game will be the fourth all-time match-up between SMU and Virginia Tech
• It will be the first time that the game will be in Dallas since 2005. Last season, Virginia Tech defeated the Mustangs in Blacksburg.
• SMU's last win over the Hokies came in 2008 when the Mustangs defeated Virginia Tech 63-56 at the Padre Island Tournament in South Padre Island, Texas.

// (ACC)OMPLISH GREATNESS

• ACC teams have combined to register 144 nonconference victories this season.
• The ACC has played 30 nonconference games against AP Top 25 opponents this season (and 31 against USA TODAY Coaches Poll teams), the most among peer power conferences. Per STATS Perform, it is the most such matchups for any conference through Christmas Day in the past 25 years.
• There are three teams ranked outside the top 25 that have multiple Quad 1 wins this season. Two of them are ACC members (NC State, Stanford; other is Alabama).
• A pair of ACC teams are currently ranked in the AP Poll: Louisville (No. 9) and Notre Dame (No. 23). Duke, North Carolina, NC State, and Stanford are receiving votes.
• Three ACC teams appear in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll: Louisville (No. 10), Notre Dame (No. 22) and North Carolina (No. 23), while Duke is receiving votes.
• The ACC currently has 10 teams in the top 50 of the NET: Louisville (No. 11), North Carolina (No. 20), Duke (No. 24), Notre Dame (No. 27), NC State (No. 28), Stanford (No. 33), Virginia (No. 37), Clemson (No. 39), Miami (No. 43) and Syracuse (No. 47). Virginia Tech (No. 51) and California (No. 59) are in the top 60.

// DYNAMIC TRIO

• Zahra King, Sahnya Jah and Paulina Paris have been on a tear recently, as each of the trio is averaging over nine points per game this season.
• King has scored in double figures in 10 games this season, including scoring a career high 23 points against Southern Miss and scoring 22 points against NC State. King is eighth in the ACC in field goal percentage (51.1%).
• Paris has stepped up for the Mustangs, scoring in double figures in six of her last seven, including a 20-point performance at Louisville.  
• Sahnya Jah scored 22 points in back-to-back games against Syracuse and Arkansas and had a team-high 16 points in the win over Coppin State.

// KYLA 1K DECK

• Kyla Deck scored her 1,000^th career point on the road at Sam Houston State.
• Deck scored her 1,000th career point at the end of the third quarter and finished the game with 14 points. Deck made two three-pointers, including a clutch three-pointer in the fourth quarter, to help seal the win for SMU.

// LETTING IT FLY

• SMU has been incredibly effective from beyond the arch of late. The Mustangs have shot over 40% from three-point range in three of the last eight games, including a season high of 47.4% (9-19) against Southern.  SMU has shot over 40% from three in six games this season.
• SMU knocked down a season high 11 three pointers against Texas Tech. The team was 11-33 from behind the arc. The 33 attempts are tied for second-most in program history.
• The Mustangs have made 104 three-pointers this season, while King leads the team with 21 made. King is shooting 48.8% from beyond the arc this season.

// OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION

• The Mustangs have made it a point to get offensive rebounds this season, as the team ranks ninth in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game.
• As a team, SMU is shooting 39.4% from the field and has shot over 40% in seven of its last 11  games.
• SMU has had four games with four or more players reaching double figures.
• The Mustangs had five players reach double figures in their win over Grambling State, a feat achieved only twice last season. SMU defeated GSU 96-70, the most points scored in a game since SMU scored 96 against Alabama State in 2023.

// DOMINATE DEFENSE

• SMU has forced 303 turnovers this season and has forced 20 or more in seven games this season, including 20 against Georgia Tech
• SMU tied its season high, forcing 24 turnovers in the win over Coppin State.  SMU's seven games with 20 or more turnovers are now the most in a single season since the 2019-20 season (12).
• Deck ranks third in the ACC in total steals with 49 (23^rd in the NCAA) and second in the ACC in steals per game at 3.7 (8^th in the NCAA). Deck has recorded 215 steals in her career.  Deck has totaled five games with five or more steals this season, including two six-steal games and a seven-steal game against Southern.
• The Mustangs also forced 24 turnovers and recorded a season high 16 steals against GCU. Four mustangs finished with three steals in the game.
• Deck recorded six steals against Grambling State, which was tied for the most by any ACC player in their team's season-opening game.

 // IT'S A BLOCK PARTY

• SMU has totaled 73 blocks this season, the seventh most in the ACC. The team's 4.3 blocks per game ranks sixth in the conference.
• SMU recorded a season high of eight blocks against Arkansas. Anaya Brown leads the team in total blocks with 19.
• Brown has three games this season with three blocks and has totaled 19  career games with three or more. She has now totaled 151 blocks in her career. Her 21 blocks this season rank ninth in the ACC, and her 1.2 blocks per game rank 11th in the conference.

// GETTING TO THE LINE

• The Mustangs have made getting to the line a point of emphasis recently, making over 15 and taking over 20 in four of their past eight games.  SMU is seventh in the ACC in free throw attempts per game (17.9).
• The team was 23-of-28 (82%) from the line against Southern Miss. Tyi Skinner (7-8), Zahra King (4-5) and Kyla Deck (4-4) led the way at the stripe.
• Skinner leads SMU, shooting 82% from the line and has made 18 of her last 19 attempts. Ayanna Thompson is second with a 78.9% clip and has made her last 12 straight attempts.
• SMU got to the line a lot against Grambling and was 28-37 from the stripe in the game. The Mustangs' 28 made free throws are the most since the team made 40 at Memphis during the 2023-24 season.

// POINTS IN THE PAINT

• The Mustangs have been attacking the paint this season. The team scored a season-high 50 points in the paint against Arkansas. It was the first time the Mustangs had scored 50 points in the paint in a game since the team scored 52 against Air Force in 2023.
• SMU has had eight games scoring 30 or more points this season, as the team recorded 30 points in the paint against Southern.