Final Stats

By Michael Eldridge | @DFWSportsMike

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Little Rock held off UT Arlington 49-43 on Thursday night at Jack Stephens Center.

The Lady Mavericks fell to 13-13 overall and 8-8 in the Sun Belt after dropping its sixth consecutive decision to the Trojans. UTA evened the game at 41 apiece with less than two minutes to go, however, an 8-2 run for Little Rock kept the Lady Mavs from clinching their place in the SBC Championship. UTA remains a win away from securing its spot with four games remaining in the regular season.

After building up a six-point advantage in the opening quarter, foul trouble prevented Rebekah VanDijk and Toma Zaleckaite from taking part in much of the second.

With UTA's bigs off the floor, Little Rock made its run. The Trojans turned the Lady Mavs over seven times, as LR turned the deficit into a lead. Laure Billie ended Little Rock's early-quarter run with a 3-pointer, however, it was the last points UTA would see in the half. The second quarter ended with the Lady Mavs outscored 17-5 in the period.

The offense of Amara Wainwright helped UTA close the gap in the third. Wainwright scored all of UTA's 11 points in the period with help from seven free throws. Leading by just one, Little Rock scored the final four points to lead by FIVE? going to the fourth.

UTA pulled even with less than three minutes to go in the fourth behind LaShanda Green's lone 3-pointer of the game. The teams exchanged field goals before Little Rock pulled the game away from the free-throw line.

Turning point
Down by two with 2:27 remaining, the Lady Mavs appeared to pick up a turnover. However, despite UTA asking for review, the referees were unable to review the play even though the Little Rock player appeared to be on the sideline. The Trojans came out of the play and knocked down a field goal to go up by four, forcing UTA to foul for the remainder.

Key Stats
UTA was outscored 23-7 when VanDijk was not on the floor after picking up her second foul in the second quarter. … Billie scored a career-high 12 points on 5-9 shooting. She was 2-4 from beyond the arc. … Little Rock's 11 first-quarter points were tied for the second lowest in SBC play for the Trojans. … UTA turned the ball over 24 times to LR's 12. The difference resulted in a 22-12 advantage for LR in points of turnovers.

Notable
Little Rock improved to 6-2 against UTA all-time. … VanDijk is three block shorts of reaching the single-season top 10 after picking up one. WHAT'S HER TOTAL? She is four short of tying for fifth all-time.

Up next
UTA closes its Sun Belt road schedule on Saturday against SBC regular-season champion Arkansas State. UTA has not defeated ASU since 1988, losing nine consecutive. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. on ESPN3.

Quotable
UTA coach Krista Gerlich on the team's performance:
"Our kids really battled and competed well. We gave Little Rock a scare I think. It was too many turnovers and they got to the free-throw line way too many times and that was the difference. We had a chance to win and we put ourselves in that position. We were down a couple of players and I couldn't ask any more from our kids than the effort they are giving. I am proud of how hard they fought"

Gerlich on the Lady Mavs' turnovers:
"You have to credit Little Rock for that a bit. They play great defense and are very physical, but it is a matter that we have some kids playing minutes they aren't used to play and positions they aren't used to playing. We have to handle it better and take care of the ball."

Gerlich on the play of Billie:
"She was good. She scored the ball well, played very hard and was competitive. I really liked how hard she competed. She said after the game to me that she turned the ball over too many times, and she did, but she has given us that energy and that competitive spirit and I liked what I saw."

Gerlich on the out of bounds call going against UTA:
"You hate to see it come down to something like that because of the hard play we had. We just have to catch a break, and when you are on the road you have to catch a break. I thought we didn't catch one. There were many other opportunities that we could have taken advantage of that could have turned the game for us. It was a big play, but I'm excited for our kids that they gave themselves and opportunity and I hate it came down to that."