ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington women's basketball team is making their first ever trip to Indiana to take on the Boilermakers of Purdue inside the Mackey Arena on November 24, 2024.
 
This is the first match up in program history between UTA and Purdue and marks the first time the Lady Mavs will play against a team from the state of Indiana.
 
A member of the Big Ten Conference, Purdue is replacing their starting five from a season ago and has six returners from the previous season. The Boilermakers finished 15-19 last year, a season in which they went 5-13 in conference play and a 10-7 record at home.
 
The Lady Mavs return eight players from last season, three of them being starters in Nya Threatt, Avery Brittingham and Taliyah Clark. Brittingham is the lone all-conference selection returning for UTA from a season ago. Last year, Brittingham led the Western Athletic Conference in rebounding and in double-doubles.
 
This year's crop includes five talented newcomers, including a pair of intraconference transfers in Aspen Thornton and Zoe Nelson, along with Koi Love from USC and Idaho State's Laura Bello. Kendall Robinson is the lone true freshman, who signed with the Lady Mavs this past national signing day.
 
Purdue is the alma mater of Lady Mavs head coach Shereka Wright and this marks her first time back in West Lafayette as a coach. Wright was a star at Purdue University where she remains to this day the only three-time All-American in Purdue women's basketball history. She was just the third Boilermaker in program history to be named First Team All-Big Ten on three occasions, and she was a finalist for National Player of the Year as both a junior and senior. As a freshman in 2001, Wright was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team.
 
Wright amassed 2,251 points (2nd in Purdue history) and 793 rebounds (7th) over the course of her career to go with 177 blocked shots (10th), 291 assists (17th) and 129 steals. Her 350 offensive rebounds are the most in school history. Wright made and attempted more free throws than any player in Big Ten history, going 776 for 1,071 from the line.
 
"I'm honored to return to Purdue University in November. It's an honor to return to my alma mater," said coach Wright. "I truly appreciate my former teammate and current Head Coach Katie Geralds and the Purdue Athletic Department for giving my program and myself the opportunity to coach on the same floor where I had some many great memories with my former teammates and coaches. I look forward to seeing all the wonderful fans in the stands in November. #Boiler Up/Buck'Em."
 
Throughout her four-year career, Purdue appeared in four NCAA tournaments, advancing to the national championship game in 2001, the Elite Eight in 2003 and the Sweet Sixteen in 2004. Purdue won two Big Ten regular-season titles (2001, 2002) and a pair of Big Ten Tournament crowns (2003, 2004) with Wright being named Most Outstanding Player both times.
 
Wright, who graduated from Purdue in 2004 with a degree in health and fitness, was inducted into the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame.
 

– #BuckEm –

 
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