Box Score Dec. 18, 2016 Box Score | Quotes | Notes
ARLINGTON, Texas â€" UTA shook off the rust of a seven-day break with an impressive, 80-50, win over Texas A&M-Commerce on Sunday at College Park Center, achieving its best nonconference start since the 2008-09 season.
The Lady Mavericks (7-2) had a balanced attack that featured eight players with at least five points or more, led by reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week Rebekah VanDijk. VanDijk finished with 16 points on 6-9 shooting, adding four from the charity stripe. Shelby Richards and Aysia Evans joined VanDijk in the double-digit club as each had 12 points.
Several milestones were achieved in the contest as VanDijk swatted away three shots to move into fourth in the UTA all-time record books with 118 in her career. She also surpassed the 900-point mark, now with 906. With her six rebounds, she moved by Allison Gray for ninth in career marks as VanDijk has 650.
Ericka Mattingly had an impressive performance, also adding three blocks (the first three of her career). Allyson Te'o joined in on the party with three, a career-high for the fourth-year player.
UTA opened up the contest as it flipped the switch in comparison to the last home contest. This time around UTA opened up a 23-9 first quarter lead sparked by Cierra Johnson, scoring eight of her nine overall points in the frame. UTA turned the Lions over eight times in the first and turned it into a 12-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
TAMU-Commerce settled in during the second quarter but UTA's rhythm continued. This time it was Christina Devers that led the attack with eight points of her own, including two 3-pointers and 3-of-4 shooting.
VanDijk came alive in the third with an impressive 5-of-5 shooting to score 12 of UTA's 26 points of the quarter. The Lady Mavs shot a game best 44.8 percent in the period.
The Lions had their best performance in the final stanza, as they'd outscore the Lady Mavs 16-10. UTA turned the ball over eight times in the final minutes, but it was not enough for TAMU-C as the trailed by 38 entering the quarter.
KEY STATS
UTA outrebounded the Lions 52-33 as six players grabbed at least five boards. Cierra Johnson combined with Allyson Te'o for a game-high of eight â€" Johnson had six on the offensive end. UTA outscored the Lions 40-18 in points in the paint.
UPCOMING GAME
The Lady Mavericks close their nonconference slate at Texas Tech on Thursday. UTA coach Krista Gerlich played at Tech and won the 1993 National Championship as a Red Raider. The game tips at 2 p.m.
