UTA Women Win At Seton Hall
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – A massive first half from SHU Thanksgiving Classic MVP Rebekah VanDijk lifted UT Arlington to a 86-61 victory over Seton Hall in the tournament’s championship game on Sunday.
The Lady Mavericks, improving to 5-0 on the season, picked up 21 points from VanDijk, as she was 9-12 in the first half, finishing with 34 points overall. The performance bested her career-high (31) and is tied for fourth in UTA single-game history. UTA swept through its pair of games at Walsh Gymnasium as it continued its best start since 1977. VanDijk was named the tournament’s MVP, while Cierra Johnson joined her on the All-Tournament team.
UTA shot a blistering 47.1 percent in the opening half, helped along by turning Seton Hall over seven times in each of the first quarters. A strong opener by Christina Devers joined VanDijk as the lone scorers in the quarter. Devers scored seven points in the first that including a pair of shots beyond the arc.
As UTA’s run built up to 23-3 to take a double-digit advantage, pace slowed in the contest but the Lady Mavericks concluded strong, scoring six of the half’s final eight points.
Despite the record performance from its junior, the offense was spread around across the board for UTA with contributions increasing in the second half. Cierra Johnson put in 14 on 4-of-6 shooting, knocking down five of her six attempts at the line. Christina Devers had 13 points and Aysia Evans also had 13. Ericka Mattingly was an assist short of tying for 10th in single-game history as she had eight.
