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By Michael Eldridge | UTAMavs.com

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - UTA women's basketball heads to the northeast as it looks to remain perfect on the season when it competes in the Seton Hall University Thanksgiving Classic. The Lady Mavericks open the tournament against San Diego State on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.

The Lady Mavs are 3-0 for the first time since the 1999-00 season and entered at No. 7 in the ESPN Mid-Major Poll this week after wins over WKU and Wichita State last week. A win in the opening-round matchup would give UTA its first 4-0 start since the 1977 season when the program had its best start at 7-0.

The victor of Game 1 will take on the winner of Central Connecticut State and Seton Hall in the final, while the losers of the openers will meet. Seton Hall will play on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. CT regardless of the outcome of its opener.

Audio for all of the Lady Mavericks' road games is available on Mavs All-Access. Mavs All-Access gives fans access to every UTA home basketball game with a web stream and audio for the women's team on the road. Subscriptions start at $9.99 per month and are available at UTAMavs.com/AllAccess.

QUOTABLE
Coach Krista Gerlich on the trip
"The fact that you're traveling on a holiday and away from your family at an important time of the year, it's tough. Also, being able to go and play games when it's just you against the world. That's really important for our team chemistry and togetherness. It's great for our kids to go and experience the world. That's one of the beautiful things about college athletics is that it does open doors of opportunity that they normally wouldn't get to experience. We're really good about letting them experience it. They know when it's time to focus and when it's time to have fun."

Gerlich on the team being able to experience Ground Zero
"That's rich in history and that's what our country is all about. You definitely have to see the experiences other people have gone through for our country. Just to experience that will be a very touching moment for all of us."

TRIPLE THREAT
Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year Rebekah VanDijk enters Saturday's contest with back-to-back double-doubles (27 in her career). Reigning SBC Player of the Week Christina Devers is averaging 19.3 points per game. Preseason third-team selection Cierra Johnson is averaging 4.33 steals per game, eighth in the nation.

FAMILIAR FACE LEADING SDSU
San Diego State coach Stacie Terry played at UT Arlington from 1994-98 and is one of 17 to be a member of the 1,000-point club. Terry was a graduate assistant during the 1999-00 season, the last time UTA was 3-0.

KNOWLEDGE NUGGETS
UTA is the lone undefeated team in the Sun Belt. … Johnson is 10 steals away from surpassing Gale Haynes (177, 1993-97) for ninth in UTA history. VanDijk is eight points away from recording her 800th.