By Michael Eldridge | UTAMavs.com

ARLINGTON, Texas - After losing five seniors, one could expect that there would be a drop off in leadership. This has been far from the case for UT Arlington women's basketball as it heads into its season opener on Sunday against UTSA.

The Lady Mavericks have turned to a group of leaders that includes senior Allyson Te'o, and juniors Rebekah VanDijk and Cierra Johnson. Te'o is the lone four-year player on the roster, while VanDijk and Johnson were both selections to the all-conference team last year.

"Ally, Rebekah and Cierra have all been very instrumental in leading this team, being vocal, decisive and holding others accountable," UTA coach Krista Gerlich said. "It has been a little bit of a struggle at times, as it should be with seven new players, but they've done a really good job of setting expectations and not letting anyone fall under that."

The qualities of leadership have been instilled on the group by a legacy left behind by the players before them. Te'o pointed to the leadership of Desherra Nwanguma, Laila Suleiman and Chaun Williams, players that were the first to be under the direction of Gerlich at UTA.

"The biggest thing I've learned is that it's a process," Te'o said. "You have it buy in every step of the way and any time there's friction, it slows the whole thing down. I realized and bought into the fact that you have to trust the process."

Te'o is a prime example of practicing what she preaches on and off the court. While being a vocal leader between the lines, it is who she is off the court that stands out.

"You always have to imagine that a little kid that wants to be a WNBA player is watching you," Te'o said. "If you keep that in the back of your head, you filter how you act. You hold doors open for people, you greet and talk to people. The communication aspect is what makes me different because I will talk to people when we're on the road and invite them to games just because you never know if that can inspire someone to play basketball, or whatever it is they want to do."

The leadership of Te'o has radiated to the team around her. VanDijk, the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year, said that the team gets behind the senior because of how she has earned the respect of the team.

"She's a leader both on and off the floor," VanDijk said. "She's constantly reminding us what we need to do and she leads by example. It helps because she has experience being here all four years. She went through that rough four-win year and we all have respect for her."

VanDijk added that Te'o has been an influential leader to herself in helping her become a more vocal player on the court and how to lead by actually doing, not just preaching.

Breck Clark, the second of the two seniors, has stepped up her game to have an influential part in if this team is going to have success. Gerlich said that Clark has raised her confidence and work ethic to really "bring it" in practice.

"She's a totally different kid from last season and I think it took her a year to figure it out, being new to the program and understanding our expectations and the amount of effort it takes day in and day out to get minutes on this team," Gerlich said. "That's a huge compliment to what our team is doing and where it came from."

Clark and Te'o take the floor as seniors for the first time this Sunday in the final event of Homecoming week presented by Texas Health Resources Ben Hogan Sports Medicine.