Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery

2016-17 UTA Basketball
UTA vs. SFA
Dec. 3, 2016
Arlington, Texas -- College Park Center
Post-Game Quotes

UTA Head Coach Krista Gerlich

Opening statement …
"SFA did a great job of coming out and attacking us from the tip. They certainly were motivated and threw the first punch. They did a really nice job of executing their game plan for the entire four quarters. We came out flat and didn't get a good start, but I liked the fact that we fought back and whittled down the lead to get us back in the game. This is new to this team. Our team is not used to being a 5-0 or having a big target on our back. We're used to going hunting and not being hunted. SFA did a nice job of attacking us and our kids learned a valuable lesson from it. I hate that they had to learn from a loss, but at the same time it's something that we can learn from. We'll have to concentrate at the free throw line and we have to take care of the basketball. We had our opportunities. We will be better from it."

On the guards' performance ...
"I didn't feel like any of our guards played very well. Both of our point guards combined for 10 turnovers. Of course, they had 10 assists, but they have to take care of the basketball better than that. Our guards had the majority of the turnovers. I don't think that anybody stepped up the way we needed them to. It was a collective lack of effort. We couldn't get in that rhythm."

On the team's free throw shooting ...
"That's the difference. We had three more field goals, but they made 14 more points than we did at the free throw line. When you get beat by five, it definitely makes a difference. The free throw line was where it was won and lost. There were other opportunities that we could have taken advantage of, but we have to knock down free throws. You'd like to say you'd be okay losing a game because your shots aren't falling, but when it's free throws, it tough."

On the loss strengthening the team's chemistry ...
"Just the fact that they were sitting in the dressing room just now and looking across at one another knowing they don't like this feeling. They are not the type of kids that are going to point fingers. They're not going to let this tear them down. If anything, it'll pull them closer and make them realize they do have something special. They need to come together as a team to potentially achieve what they can."

UTA Student-Athlete Quotes

#23, G, Christina Devers

On the team's performance following a 5-0 start ...
"I definitely feel like we had a target on our back. We are 5-0 and we've beaten good schools, so schools around this area especially are going to look to knock us off. I just tried to tell myself to do what coach needs us to do and stick to the game plan as best I could."

#44, C, Rebekah VanDijk

On the team playing with a 5-0 record …
"I try to think of every game like we're 0-0. We have the same opportunity to win the game as our opponent, so we have to give it everything we have every night and execute."

On the team's slow start in the first quarter ...
"It took us a while to get going. We just had to relax and get into our game flow. Like Western Kentucky, it took us a little while to get there. We have to figure out how to start from the tip and keep going. It definitely helped when we relaxed and played our game. At times, we'd get flustered, but we just have to play the way the coaches taught us."