DENTON – North Texas women's basketball secured its first back-to-back winning seasons in 17 years Tuesday night inside The Super Pit with a 56-54 win over Utah State in the second round of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) for the second nonconference postseason victory in program history. 
 
Terriell Bradley also made history as she surpassed head coach Jalie Mitchell for top honors in free throws by sinking five on the night to push her career total to 413. Bradley's 16 points were a team-high, while Madison Townley and Deja Terrell each scored 10. The Mean Green (17-15) outrebounded the Aggies (17-16) 38-to-28, led by eight boards from Townley, a season-high seven by Brittany Smith, and a career-high six from Grace Goodhart.
 
"This is a great win for our team and our program. I'm proud of how we stepped up," Mitchell said. "We knew what to expect. Tonight it worked out in our favor. It's important for us to win the paint, and we did that tonight."
 
Terrell's final field goal with 3:31 to play proved to be the game-winner as neither team was able to add another point to the board. Utah State could not convert on their final five attempts, including a decent look just outside the paint as time expired. The Mean Green defense did not allow an Aggie field goal for the final 7:20 of the contest as Utah State only scored a pair of free throws throughout the remainder of the game. 
 
"We fought through. A lot of that was done on the defensive end in the second half," Mitchell said.
 
UNT produced offense early on by scoring 20 points in the first quarter, capped by a 3-pointer by Trena Mims from the left wing as the buzzer expired for a 20-14 advantage. An and-one from Charlene Shepherd increased the lead to 23-16 in the opening minute of the second quarter, but seven straight Aggie points knotted the contest at the 7:29 mark. Utah State clung to a 34-33 lead at the half.
 
A 3-pointer by Utah State extended the margin to 46-42 with 2:35 to play in the third before two free throws and a three-point play by Bradley handed the lead over to UNT towards the end of the period. The final field goal by the Aggies gave the visitors a 52-49 lead until a hustle play by Terrell under the hoop led to two points for the Mean Green. Goodhart drilled a deep shot from the right wing to put UNT up, 54-52, with 5:47 remaining.
 
"A winning season means a ton for this team and our seniors," Mitchell said. "Their vision was to turn the program around."
 
The Mean Green host North Alabama Friday at 7 p.m. in the semifinals of the WBI.