UTA Women Defeat Northern Arizona
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ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington asserted itself early and often to remain perfect at College Park Center, defeating Northern Arizona 80-62 on Wednesday night.
The Lady Mavericks ended the opening month of play with a 3-1 overall record and are 3-0 at home to begin the season, a feat UTA has not accomplished since 2008-09. UTA had three reach doubles figures in the contest, including Rebekah Van Dijk with 11 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
“We are very excited to be 3-1 and I thought that the girls really fought hard and did things that we asked them to do,” UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich said. “They really buckled down and did things we were working on. We got better as the game went on in finding people in the open court and our posts did a good job in battling to get an opening and it is good to go into Thanksgiving with a win.”
Senior Chaun Williams led the team with 14 points from the bench. The Mavs’ 18-point win helped avenged a 20-point loss at the hands of the Lumberjacks (2-3) last season, a feat that Williams is proud of to show what this team is about.
“It is exciting and shows that we are actually changing this program
around,” Williams said. “It means a lot and we are glad that we got the win.”
Williams’ game-high in points would help UTA outscore the opponents bench 41-24 overall, but the turnover game helped tilt the bout. The Lady Mavs forced NAU to turn the ball over 27 times to UTA’s 11, and UTA would pick up a 33-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Lady Mavericks came out with energy in the opening half. UTA would score the first five points of the game and would build a lead of 13-6 early in the half following turnovers forced by Williams and Cierra Johnson. The Lumberjacks would hack their way back into the game and take a brief lead, but it was Williams again who would prove too much for NAU.
Williams helped UTA break a run and extend the lead into double digits after the senior hit a 3-pointer, picked up a steal and put the ball in for a quick 5-0 run. The Lady Mavs would extend the lead to 16 points late in the half and went into the break with a 41-26 advantage.
UTA broke open its lead to as high as 24 points late into the second half as the Lady Mavs remained in control. Van Dijk would pick up seven of her rebounds in the second and Morgan Hunt led in the half with nine points on 3-for-4 shooting, adding three from the charity stripe.
The Lady Mavericks will enjoy a brief break before returning to action on Tuesday, Dec. 2. UTA will take on in-state rival UTSA at 7 p.m.
