UT Arlington (10-11, 5-6) vs. Texas State (10-11, 5-6)
Tuesday, Feb. 9 | 1 p.m. | Strahan Coliseum

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By Michael Eldridge | @DFWSportsMike

ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington can see the light at the end of the tunnel on its five-game road trip, but it has one last stop at in-state rival Texas State on Tuesday at 1 p.m.

The Lady Mavericks (10-11, 5-6 Sun belt) have won three of four during their journey and have a lot they can accomplish against the Bobcats (10-11, 5-6). UTA coach Krista Gerlich earned win 199 against Georgia State on Saturday and gets her first shot at the 200-win milestone.

"It really means I have coached a lot of good players," Gerlich said. "It means that the teams I have coached have done a great job and bought into what I'm selling and performed well. It is all credit to them. It is an exciting milestone for me, but it is about my players and the kids that I have coached for sure."

To earn the milestone victory, UTA will have to achieve something it hasn't been able to do while a member of the Sun Belt, defeat Texas State. The Lady Mavs have dropped the last five against the Bobcats, including a defeat in the first round of the Sun Belt Championship last season. However, doing so would achieve the program's best five-game road trip since the 1990-91 season when UTA went 4-1.

The challenges of the trip according to the coaching staff have been on balancing rest versus getting prepared. UTA has visited four different cities, spent hours on a bus and plane, but have come together to play some its best ball of the campaign.

"Our preparation is shorter," Gerlich said. "You have to consider rest time is more valuable than prep times on the road. That is a challenge because you want the kids to be really prepped and you wonder if they are tired if they are mentally prepared. It is difficult to get them rested because you are sleeping in a different bed every night, you travel on long bus or plane rides, it is just mental and physical fatigue you battle every night. Our kids have handled it great and have been road warriors for sure."

The road has been friendly to UTA thus far. UTA is 7-5 away from home, including an earlier stretch of winning four of five between December and January.

For the recent stretch, Gerlich sees a sense of urgency in the squad, especially in the seniors.

"We have been talking with them a lot about mental focus and toughness," Gerlich said. "We have taken awhile to come together. We had some missing pieces and are still trying to ask kids to step up and fill those spots and they are figuring out that they can do it for an extended period of time but it has been a slow process for us. LaShanda Green's leadership is coming through now. She has been under the weather and injured. She is finally feeling good and has realized that she has just a few games left. She played really well against Georgia State and her mental focus and leadership was good and that really helps our team."

Following their road test against Texas State, the Lady Mavericks return home with six of the final eight games at College Park Center. UTA hosts Appalachian State on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Notes: The teams are tied for fourth in the Sun Belt, each at 5-6. ...Texas State holds a 38-25 advantage in the series. UTA is 12-17 when playing in San Marcos. … Sophomore Rebekah VanDijk is 21 minutes shy of reaching 1,500 minutes played in her career. VanDijk is five blocks short of tying for seventh in UTA history (Terra Wallace, 90). … UTA has used the same lineup in its last seven games.