UTA Women Beat Western Kentucky

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Celebrating UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich’s birthday on Wednesday night, the Lady Mavericks gave their coach what she called the biggest win in her tenure at UTA, a 71-68 decision against WKU at E.A. Diddle Arena. 

The Lady Mavericks (2-0) stormed back after trailing by double digits for much of the contenst and trimmed the deficit down to just one with under a minute. Cierra Johnson put in a layup to give UTA the lead and Miranda LeJune knocked down a pair of free throws to go up three. WKU (1-1) had a look at tying the game, but the 3-pointer bounced off the back of the rim at the buzzer.

Four Lady Mavs finished with double-digit scoring. Christina Devers, for the second consecutive game, led the team as she put in 15. Johnson and Rebekah VanDijk each finished with 14, while Breck Clark added 10, including two big 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter.

WKU, the Conference USA preseason favorite, burst out to a 15-0 lead in the first before UTA could provide any answer. UTA chipped away at the lead to get less than 10 points at the half. The Lady Toppers appeared to steal momentum right back away in the third and went up by 12 late in the quarter.

In a battle that featured two conference Preseason Players of the Year, WKU’s Kendall Noble was slowed with just four points. Noble had 12 in the team’s season opener on Nov. 11. VanDijk on the other hand finished with a double-double as she paired her points with 12 rebounds.