Final Stats

By Michael Eldridge | @DFWSportsMike

JONESBORO, Arkansas - Newly crowned Sun Belt regular season champion Arkansas State ran by UT Arlington on Saturday 66-44 at the Convocation Center.

Despite falling in the final two road games of the season, the Lady Mavericks clinched their place in the SBC Championship in March with Georgia State's loss to Appalachian State earlier in the day. UTA went to 13-14 overall and 8-9 in the conference with three games remaining, all at College Park Center.

UTA ended the road portion of its schedule with an 8-7 record, one win better than its 7-7 mark in 2014-15. Rebekah VanDijk ended a four-game streak without a double-double with a team-high 13 points and 11 rebounds. It was her 10th of the season.

Arkansas State (24-3, 18-0) remained perfect in conference behind an early 3-point barrage. The Red Wolves connected on seven in the opening half to lead by as many as 22 points. ASU opened the game with three from long range, taking advantage of UTA's 1-of-7 shooting from the floor to open a quick 13-2 lead. The 10 made overall tied the most UTA has given up in a game this season.

Lauren Billie provided UTA's lone spark of offense in the first half. Billie, earning the first start of her career after a career-high 12 points on Thursday, scored 11 points in the first half and knocked down each of UTA's 3-pointers. However, Billie was unable to best her career mark as she was 0-3 from the field in the second half.

Key Stats
ASU scored 25 points in the opening quarter, the most UTA has given up this season. … ASU turned 18 UTA turnovers into a 23-13 advantage in points off of turnovers. … UTA outscored ASU 15-3 in the fourth quarter. … UTA scored 44 points or less for the fourth consecutive game.

Notable
UTA fell to 5-14 all-time against Arkansas State and have dropped the last 10 meetings dating back to 1988. … VanDijk picked up two blocks in the contest to pull her within two of UTA's single-season top-10 list. VanDijk is also two short of tying for fifth all-time with 97 in her career.

Up next
UTA returns home for a pivotal homestand in the race for positioning in the SBC Championship. The Lady Mavs host in-state rival Texas State on Tuesday to open the three-game week at College Park Center. UTA takes on South Alabama on Thursday and closes the regular season with Troy on Saturday.

Quotable
UTA coach Krista Gerlich on the team's performance:
"This week was against the top two teams in the conference, and we knew that was going to be tough. Arkansas State was really phenomenal, particularly in the first quarter. We knew this would be a tough stretch but now we have to turn around and get my legs back under us. We want to have momentum going into the tournament and we have three home games, that is a good way to end the schedule, so we have to do a nice job at home."

Gerlich on the play of Billie in her first start:
"She is doing some good things. She is playing fearless and that is what I like most about her. That is why she is getting to play. I want to have kids come out and just be fearless and play as hard as they can. She is doing a good job of that."