UTA Women Lose At K-State

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – UT Arlington and Kansas State battled for 40 minutes on Thursday night at Bramlage Coliseum in a game that the Wildcats would outlast the Lady Mavericks 45-41.

The Lady Mavs (3-3) tied the Wildcats with back-to-back buckets by freshman Rebekah Van Dijk with less than a minute remaining, however, it was the Wildcats (5-0) who had the final answer. Kansas State converted on four of its five free throws in the final run of play, including one coming on a flagrant foul.

“We never gave up and never thought that we couldn’t win and I am proud of the fight and determination that we played with,” UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich said. “I thought our defense was really good in the game and we made some plays late. I am disappointed and they are disappointed and they should be. We aren’t happy about just playing them close.”

UTA had its opportunities late in the game, missing two attempts from beyond the arc, one from Amara Wainwright that bounced in and out with less than 45 seconds to play.

Van Dijk, scoring the final four points of the game for UTA, earned her

fifth consecutive double-double with 12 points and 11 boards. Cierra Johnson was second on the team in scoring with nine.

The Lady Mavericks defense held the Wildcats to their lowest scoring effort of the season. KSU entered having averaged 72.0 points per game and had its lowest shooting percentage. The Wildcats shot just 31.3 percent and made one 3-pointer in the contest. The difference though, came from turnovers. UTA turned the ball over 22 times and the Wildcats held a 21-9 advantage in points off of turnovers, the first time this season the Lady Mavs have been outscored in the category.

Having played two games in the last three days, UTA will have nine days before it returns to action at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 13.

UTA, hitting just two 3-pointers in Tuesday night’s loss to UTSA, doubled its total in the first and led by as much as eight points. Cierra Johnson connected on two of her three attempts and the Lady Mavs had four overall in the opener.

Combined with an improved offense, the Lady Mavericks defensed stifled the Wildcat shooters throughout the half. Kansas State would be held without a field goal for over 10 minutes and had just two field goals with 7:27 to go.

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