DALLAS — North Texas followed up a performance that showed just how far it has come with one that showed just how far it still has to go to be the type of team head coach Shanice Stephens wants to build on Sunday.

Amber Jackson

The Mean Green came into a game against rival SMU with confidence following a near miss in a loss to traditional power New Mexico and was promptly blasted by the Mustangs 74-57 at Moody Coliseum.

UNT (4-5) turned the ball over 31 times and gave up a 12-0 run at the end of the first half. The Mustangs cruised the rest of the way and picked up its sixth win in its last seven games against the Mean Green.

UNT fell to the Lobos, who received votes in the AP’s Top 25 poll, 66-63 in its last game.

“It’s so disappointing,” Stephens said. “I thought we had taken a big step forward in being able to compete. To take this step back hurts. We have to get it wrapped up because conference play is where it starts.”

UNT will open Sun Belt Conference play Thursday at Louisiana-Lafayette.

The Mean Green will have to improve its performance offensively after finishing with a season low for points in its loss to the Mustangs. UNT shot just 32 percent from the field.

“The turnovers really hurt us today,” UNT junior guard Brittney James said. “They pressured us, but we shouldn’t have had that many turnovers. There is no telling how many points they got off them. They took advantage of us not taking care of the ball.”

Amber Jackson scored 16 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for her sixth straight double-double and was one of three UNT players who finished in double figures. Senior guard Tricia Lee scored 15 points and James added 13.

The rest of UNT’s players struggled. The Mean Green received just three points from its bench, which was outscored 35-3 by SMU’s reserves.

UNT appeared as if it would challenge SMU early in the first half when it led by as many as four points.

SMU (3-5) took control of the game with a 12-0 run after Tricia Lee scored to cut UNT’s deficit to 25-22 with 3:17 left in the first half.

The Mean Green didn’t score the rest of the first half, which ended with SMU up 37-22.

“We have to get down and play defense,” Stephens said. “When people go on runs, we have to take care of the ball so that we will get looks at the basket. If we do turn it over, we have to get down and play defense.”

The 22 points UNT scored was its low for a half this season, falling short of the 27 it scored in the first half of a win over Valparaiso on Dec. 6.

The Mean Green turned the ball over 14 times in the first half, exceeding its total of 13 from its last game against New Mexico.

SMU continued to build its lead in the second half behind combination of Delisha Wills and LaShandra Hill, who both scored 16 points for SMU.

The loss leaves UNT just a few days to get ready for the beginning of conference play.

“We will be ready,” James said. “We have to take it one game at a time in conference play and make sure we execute.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

SMU 74, UNT 57

NORTH TEXAS (4-5) – Lee 5-13 5-5 15, James 4-9 4-4 13, Jackson 6-10 4-4 16, M. El 1-7 4-4 6, Timms 2-10 0-0 4, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Buckley 0-2 0-0 0, N. El 0-1 0-0 0, Bailey 1-1 0-0 2, Escalera 0-1 0-0 0, Torru 0-5 1-2 1. Totals 19-59 18-19 57.

SMU (3-5) – Wills 4-5 8-10 16, Gilliam 3-6 1-2 7, Day 1-5 4-6 6, Severin 1-5 0-0 2, Samuels 3-8 2-4 8, Hill 4-10 8-11 16, Elliott 2-4 3-3 7, Shell 3-4 0-0 6, Gates 2-4 0-0 4, Mahnesmith 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-53 26-36 74.

Halftime – SMU 37-22. 3-point goals —  UNT 1-16 (Lee 0-6, James 1-4, M. El 0-3, Buckley 0-1, Escalera 0-1, Torru 0-1), SMU 0-4 (Samuels 0-2, Hill 0-2). Fouled out – none. Rebounds – UNT 42 (Jackson 15), SMU 34 (Wills, Day 7). Assists – UNT 11 (Lee 4), SMU 11 (Wills, Gilliam 3). Total fouls – UNT 22, SMU 16. A – 737.