UTA Women Defeat Texas A&M Corpus Christi
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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – UT Arlington surged in the second half to earn its first road win of the season, defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 42-28 at the Dugan Wellness Center on Saturday in nonconference play.
The Lady Mavericks (4-3) outscored the Islanders (2-5) 27-11 in the second half after trailing by two going into the break. Rebekah Van Dijk picked up nine rebounds and eight points in the second to complete her sixth consecutive double-double. The freshman finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds overall, tabbing her seventh game with double-digit scoring.
“This win showed a lot about our kids digging deep and executing late in the game and hitting big shots,” UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich said. “It wasn’t an easy win at all. We talked about rebounding and we were getting out rebounding a lot and we talked (at halftime) about not being as hesitant.”
UTA ended a brief two-game losing streak with the win and head into its
final run of nonconference play this week. The Lady Mavs play at home for the first time since Dec.2 on Wednesday vs. McMurry. Nonconference play ends on Dec. 21 at Metroplex rival North Texas.
Senior Chaun Williams helped flood the Islanders in the second, picking up three steals in the contest and finished with 10 points.
“It felt good getting the win tonight,” Williams said. “The coaches gave us some things to get some easy buckets and to be patient. We got into our groove in the second half.
The Lady Mavs forced the Islanders in 20 turnovers overall and a run of three-straight possessions to begin the second half sent UTA into an early 6-0 run. UTA expanded the lead into double digits shortly after and would not look back.
UTA’s defense held TAMU-CC to 20.8 percent shooting as the Islanders ran into a defense that Williams said kept its opponent on its toes.
“It was exciting and got us pumped up,” Williams said. “It came from us switching defenses on them and it was confusing them and we were getting easy stops that way with some easy steals.”
Following the two-game slate this week to close nonconference play, UTA begins Sun Belt Conference action on Dec. 30 against Georgia Southern in a men’s and women’s doubleheader.
