Mustangs charge past Mavericks (Photo by Austin Kilgore, The Daily Campus)

Four players scored in double digits and the Mustangs shot 53 percent from the field in the second half Tuesday, defeating the University of Texas-Arlington, 67-58, at Moody Coliseum.

SMU (3-3) held off a 20-point performance by Mavericks (1-2) guard Terra Wallace and led by as many as 22, though head coach Rhonda Rompola would have liked to see her team end the game stronger.

“We’ve still got to have a better start and better finish,” she said.

UTA jumped ahead first, leading 17-7 early in the game. The Mustangs were then aided by an offensive outpouring from freshman guard Elbie Gates.

In just six first-half minutes, Gates led the SMU comeback with nine points and three offensive rebounds.

“Being a freshman,” she said, “I had to make the most of my minutes.”

Senior Sarah Davis finished with 11 points, while guards Juli Colli and Sharee Shepherd and post Janielle Dodds each had 10.

“It was a good win,” Davis said. “They had shorter posts, and we tried to take advantage of their size.”

SMU also received a strong performance from guard Kendall Shead, who scored six points with five assists and two rebounds

“The key to the game was playing team ball,” Davis said. “Hopefully we can build on this win and keep it going.”

Next up for the Mustangs is the University of North Texas Mean Green (4-1) in Denton this Saturday.

Mustangs charge past Mavericks (Photo by Austin Kilgore, The Daily Campus)