UT Women Defeat Georgia State
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ATLANTA, Ga. – Trailing by nine points with less than seven minutes to play, UT Arlington found its early-season form to defeat Georgia State 45-39 at GSU Sports Arena on Thursday night.
The Lady Mavericks (9-6, 3-3) snapped a three-game skid and picked up their first road win in Sun Belt Conference play, as well as the first road win outside of the state of Texas this season. Rebekah Van Dijk earned her ninth double-double with a game-high 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“It was a really good win for us to steal one on the road,” UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich said. “I hope this snaps us out of our funk that we have been in. I thought we played hard the last seven minutes and we got to figure out how to play hard for 40.”
Georgia State (7-8, 2-4) broke open a 25-25 game with a 9-0 run to take a 34-25 lead with under seven minutes to play. However, the Lady Mavericks stole momentum and the Panthers turned the ball on five consecutive possessions. UTA stormed into the lead on a 12-1 run, tying the game with free throws from Morgan Hunt and going into the lead for good on a lay in from Van Dijk with 3:30 left.
Cierra Johnson was second on the team with eight points for UTA and Chaun Williams led the bench with seven points. UTA has won all three meetings between the programs all-time.
UTA returns home for a quick home stand on Monday, welcoming Texas State to College Park Center at 5 p.m.
The teams played a defensive battle in the first half that saw each team go through spans without a bucket. UTA opened the game on a 7-0 run that was helped by an 0-for-17 effort from Georgia State as the Panthers were scoreless for the first eight minutes of the game.
Georgia State responded offensively to jump into the lead, as UTA’s offense would quiet. The Panther’s 10-0 run put their advantage at 17-11 before the Lady Mavs could answer. UTA closed the half strong, getting a bucket from Artavia Ford as the buzzer sounded to trail 19-17 at the break.
The Lady Mavericks and Panthers exchanged buckets early in the second half before Georgia State pushed into the lead. However, UTA outscored GSU 28-20 in the second to pick up the win.
