Photo Gallery | Final Stats

By Michael Eldridge |@DFWSportsMike

ARLINGTON, Texas - In a matchup of the Sun Belt Conference's top-two defensive teams, UALR defeated UT Arlington 48-38 on Saturday night at College Park Center.

The Lady Mavericks (15-12, 9-9) tried to rally late against the Sun Belt leaders in their final home game of the regular season. UTA found itself down just three points with three minutes remaining after trailing by as many as 12 in the half. However, the Trojans (24-4, 17-2) closed the game with the final five points to claim the Sun Belt regular-season title.

"I thought we really did fight hard," UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich said. "I think they are really good and there is a reason I think they are going to be the Sun Belt champions. Our kids really battled and didn't give up and made it a ball game. Anyone that appreciates defense and understands basketball likes those kinds of games. It was a defensive battle."

UTA ended its CPC schedule with a 10-5 record, its first winning home record since the 2009-10 season. However, the loss was the Lady Mavs' second consecutive and sent the team into the final week of the season needing to pick up wins on the road.

The Lady Mavs fell to sixth in the conference and lead Appalachian State by a game, while the two teams tied for the eighth and final spot in the Sun Belt tournament are two games back of UTA. The Lady Mavericks travel to Georgia Southern on Thursday and Appalachian State on Saturday to close out the season.

On UTA's Senior Night, it was freshmen that led the team. First-year center Rebekah Van Dijk earned her 14th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow freshman Cierra Johnson led the team with 11 points. Senior Chaun Williams scored four points in the contest. Williams reached 2,000 minutes played in the game for her career.

UTA and UALR went back and forth early in the first half, asthe Trojans held a one-point edge six minutes into the game. The Trojans broke away with a 9-0 run to lead 18-8. UTA briefly answered to bring the game within six points, but UALR extended the lead back to nine on a 3-pointer from Alexius Dawn.

Van Dijk and Johnson helped shrink the UALR lead to just four points with consecutive layups with two minutes to go in the first. However, UALR would score the final six points of the half to hold a 29-21 halftime advantage.

In the second half UALR converted on just four shots from the floor, shooting 19 percent. UTA was 8-for-23. The poor shooting from the Trojans helped the Lady Mavs back into the game and UTA had opportunities to tie the game up, but would turn the ball over before UALR's run put the game away.