UT Arlington Women Rout Missouri Valley

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ARLINGTON, Texas — UT Arlington asserted itself early and tipped the season off with a record-breaking performance, racing to a 90-32 victory over Missouri Valley College on Friday at College Park Center.

The 58-point margin was the largest for the Lady Mavericks in a season opener, as well as the most points to open a season, breaking a record 37-point victory in 2003. With the win, UTA also ended a streak of four consecutive season-opening losses.

“We are very excited about that win and are very glad to get the season off on the right foot,” UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich said. “We stuck to our game plan the whole time and our kids played with a lot of energy. We were very aggressive and really attacked the basket.”

The Lady Mavs, opening with four of their first five games at home, return to action against Houston Baptist on Sunday at 3 p.m. at College Park Center.

Freshman center Rebekah Van Dijk needed just a touch to show the impact Gerlich hopes she will have over the next few years. Van Dijk scored the team’s first three points of the season and was a power throughout the first half. The Nazareth, Texas native scored 13 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 17 points.

“They tell us all the time to do our best, but I wanted to do the best that I could to for

our team,” Van Dijk said. “I was a little nervous though, coach didn’t see it and I tried to keep it inside, but she said it was a good thing.”

Van Dijk was one of three Lady Mavs to reach double figures. Freshman Cierra Johnson scored 13 points, while senior Chaun Williams added 11.

UTA’s emphasis on defense entering the season paid off as UTA held the Vikings to 28.2 percent shooting from the field, while UTA was able to shoot 45.1 percent. The Lady Mavericks also won the turnover battle, as UTA forced 27 turnovers and had just six.

“The most glaring stats for us in a good way were the assists-to-turnover ratio,” Gerlich said. “It was a huge thorn in our side last year. The fact that we had only six turnovers was excellent.”

The Lady Mavericks outscored the Vikings 55-18 in the second half, and picked up nine of the teams 16 steals.