Mean Green vs. Utah State (WBI Second Round)

Tuesday, March 26

Denton

7 PM

University of North Texas

Utah State

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Photo by: Jon Mitchell

3/25/2019 9:10:00 AM | Women's Basketball

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DENTON – North Texas women's basketball competes in the second round of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) and will host Utah State Tuesday at 7 p.m. inside The Super Pit.

About the Mean Green (16-15, 7-9 C-USA)
North Texas women's basketball competed in a nonconference postseason tournament for the first time since 2002, and the Mean Green captured the program's first win with a 56-42 defeat of UTRGV.

All C-USA First Team selection Terriell Bradley leads the Mean Green with a 16.0 scoring average. Anisha George, a C-USA All-Defensive Team pick, contributes 10.8 points per contest along with a team-best 7.1 rebounds, while Grace Goodhart averages 6.3 points for UNT. Brittany Smith hands out 3.1 assists, while Trena Mims boasts a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.

About Utah State (17-15, 10-8 MWC)
The Aggies registered their first postseason victory since the 2010-11 season with a 68-60 victory over UC Riverside in the first round of the WBI March 23. Utah State was eliminated in the second round of the MWC Championships with a 64-41 loss to Wyoming March 11.

All-Mountain West selection Shannon Dufficy averages 15.7 points and 10.3 rebounds for the Aggies. Her 19 double-doubles on the season rank as 13^th-best in the nation. Hailey Bassett adds 9.2 points, and Rachel Brewster totals 8.7. Eliza West dishes out 5.5 assists for the 21^sthighest mark in the country and tallied a career-high 13 in a win over Utah Valley Dec. 15.

History between the squads
Utah State's 57-41 victory over the Mean Green Dec. 8 in Denton was the first matchup between the two squads.

Last meeting
DENTON (Dec. 8, 2018) – The offense did not come easy for North Texas in a 57-41 loss to Utah State where only five Mean Green scored as the team shot under 26-percent from the field Saturday afternoon inside The Super Pit.

The lack of scoring was unexpected considering UNT (4-5, 0-0 C-USA) put up 100 points three days ago in a rout of Houston Baptist. The 41 accrued against the Aggies (4-5, 0-0 Mountain West) was the lowest total since Dec. 4, 2015, in a three-point loss to Weber State, while the 25.9-percent shooting equaled the mark set Jan. 28, 2017, in a 62-47 defeat at Old Dominion.

Terriell Bradley was the lone North Texas player in double figures with a game-high 16 points. Madison Townley and Anisha George each totaled eight, Trena Mims had five, and Grace Goodhart four. The UNT bench went scoreless throughout the afternoon.

About the WBI
In its 10^thyear, the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) provides a choice for postseason worthy Division I Women's teams who wish to continue their season but who do not qualify for the NCAA tournament. The 16-team event will take place over two weeks with all games being played on campus sites.

This season's bracket consisted of: UC Riverside, Utah State, UNT, UTRGV, Southern Miss, Nicholls, North Alabama, Georgia State, Tennessee Tech, Akron, Coastal Carolina, Campbell, UNC Asheville, Appalachian State, Davidson and Marshall.

2019 WBI Dates
March 18 – WBI Tournament Selection and Bracket Released
March 20-21 – First Round
March 24-25 – Second Round
March 29-30 – Semifinals
April 2 or 3 – Championship

Past Champions
2010: Appalachian State
2011: UAB
2012: Minnesota
2013: Detroit
2014: UIC
2015: Louisiana Lafayette
2016: Louisiana Lafayette
2017: Rice
2018: Yale

Mean Green in the postseason
UNT has competed beyond the conference tournament on four occasions with the lone win occurring this season.

3/12/86           NCAA Tournament      Washington L, 69-54
3/16/01           WNIT                           Oklahoma St. L, 79-67
3/14/02           WNIT                           Washington L, 82-61
3/20/19           WBI                             UTGRV W, 56-42

Home court advantage
UNT's 2018-19 record in The Pit stands at 10-6, while it has amassed a 6-9 mark in other gyms. North Texas averages 69.4 points in Denton and are outscoring opponents by 10.5. On the road, that average drops to 55.9 points as the Mean Green are being outscored by 3.8. As the home team, UNT grabs 7.2 more rebounds per contest and boasts a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Back at home
The Mean Green have compiled a 5-1 record when returning to The Super Pit following a road tilt this season. North Texas has won home contests after returning from a trip with victories over Missouri State, CSU Bakersfield, UTEP, FAU and UTRGV.

Winning seasons
In the 42 years of the modern era of North Texas women's basketball, the program has amassed 11 winning overall records with last season's 17-14 mark being the most recent. The 2018-19 team is 16-15 and was one C-USA win away from tying a program-best eight wins, which was also set last year.

History at C-USA Tourney
The Mean Green made their fifth appearance at the Conference USA tournament in 2019 and hold a 6-5 all-time record. Since head coach Jalie Mitchell took over the program before the 2015-16 season, UNT and Rice are the only programs to have won at least one contest in the conference tournament each season.

3/11/14           Louisiana Tech L, 77-59           First Round
3/8/16            Florida Atlantic           W, 79-74 First Round
3/9/ 16            Old Dominion L, 62-55 Second Round
3/8/17            UAB W, 65-62 (2OT) First Round
3/9/17            Western Kentucky L, 78-51 Quarterfinals
3/7/18            Charlotte W, 58-55 First Round
3/8/18            Louisiana Tech W, 76-69 Quarterfinals
3/9/18            Western Kentucky L, 77-61 Semifinals
3/13/19           Southern Miss W, 49-46 First Round
3/14/19           No. 24 Rice L, 61-43 Quarterfinals

All-Time History in Conference Tourneys
The Mean Green made four appearances in the Southland Tournament from 1985-86 to 1995-96 without attaining a victory. From the 1997-98 to the 1999-2000 seasons, North Texas went 1-3 in the Big West and grabbed its first conference tourney win in a 71-68 triumph over UC Irvine March 3, 1999. UNT competed in 20 tournament games while in the Sun Belt and achieved eight wins between 2000-01 and 2012-13.

Bradley, George Earn C-USA Honors
Terriell Bradley of North Texas was named to the Conference USA First Team for a second time, and Anisha George was voted to the All-Defensive Team.

Bradley, also a first team selection last season, is the fourth-leading scorer in C-USA at 16.7 points per game. The redshirt senior guard ranks top 10 in the league in: 3-point percentage (seventh, 38.5), 3-pointers made per game (seventh, 1.8), and free throw percentage (eighth, 77.6). Bradley also averages 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals. Bradley is the only Mean Green to ever receive C-USA First Team honors.

George made an immediate impact inside during her first season with the Mean Green. The post from St. Croix, Virgin Islands, is ranked within the top 10 in Conference USA in several categories: offensive rebounds per game (2nd, 3.5), field goal percentage (third, .612), double-doubles (fifth, six), rebounds (sixth, 7.6), and blocked shots (seventh, 0.9). In 2018-19, George is averaging 11.1 points. George is the second player from North Texas to be named to the All-Defensive team, joining Kelsey Criner from the 2015-16 season.

Conference highs
The final three Mean Green conference wins produced several team season highs in league play this season. At home against Florida Atlantic Feb. 14, the 82 points, 46 rebounds, 10 3-pointers, 44.9 percent shooting, and the 41.7 percent showing on 3-pointers were the highest outputs by UNT versus league opponents this year. The 25-point triumph versus FIU Feb. 16 was the largest Mean Green margin of victory in C-USA play this year, and the 17 assists were the most distributed. The team also matched its high in steals with nine and rebounding margin of 13.

Sharing the scoring wealth
Nearly every Mean Green player who has seen the court this season has led or co-led the team in scoring at least once this season, proving that UNT has several potent offensive options. Terriell Bradley has posted the high score on 18 occasions, with Anisha George coming in next with eight. Grace Goodhart and Madison Townley have each tallied a team-high twice, while Velma Mitchell, Charlene Shepherd, Callie Owens, and Deja Terrell have each garnered the distinction once.

Never ever had we ever…
Won at LA Tech, Southern Miss or Western Kentucky until the 2018-19 season. The Mean Green have achieved three milestones with victories in Ruston, La., Hattiesburg, Miss., and Bowling Green, Ky. Before picking up the wins this year, North Texas had gone 0-5 at La Tech, 0-3 at Southern Miss, and 0-9 at WKU.

Doubling up
The Mean Green have compiled seven double-doubles in 2018-19, with six from junior post Anisha George and the other by redshirt sophomore forward Madi Townley.

Throughout the 2017-18 season, the team amassed five, one each from current players Terriell Bradley and Micayla Buckner. Two seasons ago, six double-doubles were accomplished, half of them coming from Bradley.

Mitchell notches 50 career wins
With the 70-51 win over UTEP Jan. 10, head coach Jalie Mitchell placed herself alongside former UNT coaches Judy Nelson and Tina Slinker in the 50-win club. Mitchell also became the fastest to achieve the honor in program history.

Bradley enters top 10 in scoring
With her career-high 40-point performance against NDSU Nov. 24, Terriell Bradley has continued to show her offensive prowess with 30 points at SMU Nov. 28 and 36 versus Missouri State Dec. 1. She has elevated from 14^thinto fifth in the UNT career-scoring charts with 1,425 points. Head coach Jalie Mitchell's (1998-2002) record of sits at 1,764.

Chart-topping Bradley
With 408 free throws made, Bradley is second all-time in program history. Not out of sight is the No. 1 spot, held by head coach Jalie Mitchell, who sank 411 throughout her career. Bradley made 164 from the line last season and needs four to dethrone Mitchell.

Bradley is fifth all-time in 3-pointers made with 133. Ashley Norris (1995-2000) occupies the top spot with 197.

Bring on the OT
The Mean Green have acquired a 12-26 record all-time in overtime games, but following the 83-76 win over Missouri State Dec. 1, North Texas has strung together six straight victories involving extra periods. The win over the Bears was UNT's third in program history inside The Super Pit in OT, as the team is now at 3-10 at home. Two seasons ago, North Texas pulled out wins in each of its four overtime contests, and went one-for-one in 2017-18.

Last outing for the Mean Green
DENTON (March 20, 2019) – North Texas women's basketball continued to make history with the program's first postseason win in a 56-42 victory over UTRGV Wednesday night inside The Super Pit.

The Mean Green (16-15) advanced past the conference tournament in three seasons, 1985-86, 2000-01, and 2001-02, but never pulled out a win until the defeat over UTRGV (18-15). Anisha George scored a game-high 19 points, Callie Owens added 10 for UNT, and Madison Townley pulled down 10 boards. The Mean Green outrebounded UTRGV, 36-30, and forced 22 turnovers.