North Texas Daily

A third of the way through their conference season, the North Texas women’s basketball team has an overall record of 8-10 and a Conference USA record of 2-4. The Mean Green just recently snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday at home against Louisiana Tech in overtime, giving them their second win in conference play this season.

“I feel like we’re finally at a place where we’re comfortable and confident,” head coach Jalie Mitchell said. “[The team] understands our responsibility, so I’m excited we were able to pull this last one out after dropping a few close ones.”

North Texas had a tight chance to win its four conference losses this season. The Mean Green also had a rotation of eight players in the first two conference games, which did not include their leading scorer and rebounder, senior post player Anisha George.

“I’m excited about this team going forward,” Mitchell said. “We were in a few close games, but we’ve got our leading scorers and rebounders down low back. Obviously, people who are important statistically to your team will make a difference, but that’s not an excuse. We are just trying to learn from the opportunities we weren’t able to capitalize on.”

Mitchell believes to improve the team’s play will involve further communication and reliance on teammates.

“We need to be aware of where our scoring should be coming from down the stretch of games,” Mitchell said. “But, it’s more about our teamwork and leaning, trusting and depending on each other. We need to execute a lot better, move the ball and take care of the ball. It’s not super complicated, but it’s one of those things where everyone has to be working together and on the same page.”

The fifth-year coach at North Texas mentioned a number of small things that need to change in order for the team to start improving its play, which can be common for teams with a number of new players.

The Mean Green introduced five new freshmen to the team this season, which created a learning curve near the beginning of the season. However, Mitchell has been pleased with the team, including guard Randi Thompson who is currently averaging eight points per contest and has the best 3-point percentage on the team.

“All season I think we’ve executed well,” freshman guard Jazion Jackson said. “We had several great practices before our wins and I think that prepared us. We just have to turn to practice and that will fix all of our problems.”

These recent developments will play into whether North Texas can complete their conference schedule with a positive winning percentage and a strong seed in the C-USA tournament at the end of the season. The Mean Green have two-thirds of the conference schedule remaining, which allows time for the team to fight back to the top of the standings. 

Featured Image: Senior post Anisha George pump fakes the Louisiana Tech defender to score a layup on Jan. 18, 2020. Image by Zachary Thomas