Final Stats

By Michael Eldridge | @DFWSportsMike

SAN MARCOS, Texas - After dropping its last five to in-state rival Texas State, UT Arlington ended the streak Tuesday afternoon with a 32-point victory, the second largest margin in the I-35 series.

The Lady Mavericks (11-11, 6-6 Sun Belt) cruised to an 80-48 win at Strahan Coliseum, earning UTA coach Krista Gerlich the 200th win of her career. UTA also tied its best five-game road trip with a 4-1 record, last achieved in the 1990-91 season. The win lifts UTA by Texas State (10-12, 5-7) into fourth in the Sun Belt standings and is the first time since Jan. 4 that UTA has been at .500.

Rebekah VanDijk led the way with a career-high 26 points on 8-11 shooting. VanDijk earned her ninth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds and also chipped in with three blocks.

Morgan Hunt notched a career mark with 15 points, shooting 6-7 from the field. Amara Wainwright and Cierra Johnson had combined for 15 assists, as each bested their career high. Wainwright finished with eight, while Johnson had seven.

After the Bobcats scored the opening three points, UTA caught fire. The Lady Mavs went on a 20-3 run, turning the Bobcats over eight times as Johnson picked up three steals during the opening quarter. UTA continued to clamp down on the defensive end to extend its lead to 42-16 at the break.

The Lady Mavs shot 69.2 percent in the second quarter as UTA had three in double-digit scoring at the half.

The lead soared beyond 30 points for UTA in the second half despite Texas State finding a rhythm. The Bobcats shot 57.1 percent in the third quarter, however, were outscored 22-19 in the period.

Turning point
It took UTA more than three minutes to get on the board as the Lady Mavs missed their first four shots. UTA then exploded for an 18-0 run before the Bobcats knew what hit them. VanDijk would score nine points during the run on 3-4 shooting.

Key Stats
UTA outscored Texas State 38-12 in the paint and 21-8 in points off turnovers. … The lone statistic the Bobcats held over UTA was a 25-20 advantage in bench points. … Wainwright was one assist short of the sixth best single-game mark in program history.

Notable
UTA earned win 598 in program history. … VanDijk's 10 free throws were a career high. … VanDijk tallied three blocks for 86 in her career. She is four short of tying for seventh all-time.

Up next
After playing five consecutive on the road, UTA closes the season by playing six of the final eight games at College Park Center. A three-game homestand begins on Saturday against Appalachian State.

Quotable

UTA coach Krista Gerlich on the team's performance:
"I am super excited for our kids and for our program. It was a great win on the road and a good way to end a five-game road swing. I am really proud of their effort and their determination."

Gerlich on picking up her 200th career win with this group:
"It is exciting. It is all about our players and coaching staffs. I have had so much help. They do a great job in performing the things that we ask them to do."

Gerlich on the team jumping out to a big lead:
"It was really big. It was even more impressive to not let them have a run. They never had a serious run in the second half and they are known for that, they can score in a hurry. I though our kids approached it really well."

VanDijk on defeating the rival on the road:
"Texas State is our rival and we really needed to get this win. The team really helped me out, passed the ball really well to me and kept it high. We knew we had an advantage in the post because they are little smaller and we took advantage of it."

VanDijk on the guard's ability to get her the ball early:
"They did really well. They also do really well passing. They knew when to get it to me, the timing, and it was just a team effort."

VanDijk on holding Texas State to 48 points:
"We really focused on our defense and didn't want to let them score a lot. We do it a lot in practice in getting stops. It takes all of us to get a stop and we talk about it every day and it is really important to us."