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UTA (8-3) 74, Appalachian State (5-7) 63
Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016
College Park Center • Arlington, Texas
Postgame Quotes

UTA Head Coach Krista Gerlich

Opening statement …
"Just as expected I thought that was a hard-fought game. Appalachian State really came after us, particular after we got off to a hot start. They just kept coming after us and fighting and I knew that they would. Our kids started really well, which is one of those things that we've been working on and talking about. But then, obviously we went through a couple of lulls, and I think we are going to do that with some many young kids and just trying to find our rotations. We had some kids step up and late in the game Beck (Rebekah VanDijk) really starting finishing her shots and at the free-throw line. We started to feed it inside and understanding where we needed the ball to go. Then we got stops the last couple of possessions that were really important. I am just really proud of the way our kids battled and came away with a tough win."

On the stiff competition in the Sun Belt …
"I am always glass half full. Always. You can't be any other way. I just told them, expect that type of game every night in the Sun Belt. That is what we get. The fact that we went up and down, obviously that is room for improvement and we always have room for improvement. We want to always be able to continue to rise up the entire game and not have the lulls so much."

On Rebekah VanDijk's performance …
"Rebekah led our team in minutes played, by nine. For our big kid to be doing that, that's pretty awesome. We are asking her to do a lot."

UTA Student-Athletes

#44, Jr., Rebekah VanDijk, C

On taking control of the second half in the post …
"Coach (Kristin) Cole kind of got onto me and she told me I need to step up and play harder and work harder. I definitely took that attitude, along with one of just us not losing. I struggled the first half but my teammates helped me out, they stepped up in positions that we needed them and they did great. They had my back so I had to have theirs."

#24, Fr., Aysia Evans, G

On the combined effort of the guards …
"In the first quarter we had a lot of fun sharing the ball. It was very exciting that we were all scoring. That brought energy, not just to us, but to our bench. That got me going, shooting. They were finding me."

On the flow of the offense when VanDijk is scoring in the paint …
"It helps a lot because when we can get inside outs, the defense really collapses on her and she can get it out to us for a three."