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By Michael Eldridge | UTAMavs.com

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.

KEY RUNS
First Half
Trailing by three midway through the first quarter, UTA responded with a huge run that saw VanDijk score eight of her 21 first-half points. The Lady Mavericks went on a 20-0 run and held SHU scoreless from four minutes left in the first to four minutes into the second quarter. The Pirates were forced to use three timeouts during the run and turned it over three consecutive times down the floor.

Second Half
Out of the break, Seton Hall scored the first six points of the break and appeared to have momentum, however, UTA would say otherwise. The Lady Mavericks went on a spurt of their own and outscored the Pirates 33-25 in the quarter and put the lead to 26 points.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Rebekah VanDijk was 14-of-19 with 34 points, tied for fourth in UTA single-game history and three better than her career mark at Texas State last season. VanDijk earned her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.

QUOTES
Coach Krista Gerlich on the team's performance
"We got a little bit turnover happy in the first quarter, and they are hard to play against. I told our kids to keep battling and we had some kids step up and follow the game plan."

Gerlich on winning the championship and keeping the run going
"I am really proud of them. We showed a lot of heart and guts. I am really proud of their effort. The kids can't be satisfied. They got to remain hungry and just have the mentality of who's next."

VanDijk on returning to Arlington with a trophy
It is awesome. it is really big for our program to come out with two wins in a good tournament. We played our hearts out and it was a lot of fun and it was a good trip."

VanDijk on her career performance
"I couldn't of done it without my teammates. They have to pass it to me for me to be successful and I couldn't of done it without them. I stayed focused the whole game and this is how I wanted to help out my team."

VanDijk on keeping the momentum in trying to go to 6-0 next week
"We will be focusing a lot on making free throws and staying focused for SFA. We have to continue to get better every day and work hard."