Final Stats

By Michael Eldridge | UTAMavs.com

MANHATTAN, Kansas - In a 40-minute nonconference battle Thursday night, Kansas State outlasted UT Arlington 45-41 at Bramlage Coliseum.

The Lady Mavericks (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 down the stretch, including one off 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 Big 12 foe to its 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 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 half and led by as much as eight points. Johnson connected on 2-of-3 attempts and the Lady Mavs had four overall in the opening half.

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 more than 10 minutes and had just two field goals with less than eight minutes in the half.

However, Kansas State made a run with less than two minutes to go until the break. UTA turned the ball over three times and KSU closed on a 6-0 run to go into halftime up 26-25, despite the Lady Mavs holding the lead for more than 17 minutes.

The Lady Mavericks continued to keep the Wildcats from clicking for much of the second. Kansas State was held scoreless for 10 minutes once again.