Final Stats

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By Michael Eldridge | @DFWSportsMike

ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington closed the regular season with a hard-fought battle with Troy, but came up short as the Trojans won 80-70 on Saturday at College Park Center.

The Lady Mavericks closed their regular-season campaign with a 15-15 overall record and were 10-10 in Sun Belt play. UTA will enter next week's Sun Belt Championship as the No. 6 seed, taking on No. 3 Louisiana (20-9, 13-7) on Wednesday at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.

Recognizing the five seniors on Senior Night, it was senior Amara Wainwright who kept UTA in the contest. Wainwright produced a 20-point effort, her second consecutive game with at least 20 points. Wainwright was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. With the effort, Wainwright moved into a tie for seventh in single-season history with 60 3-pointers this season. Rebekah VanDijk had a team-high 21 points.

Ashley Beverly Kelley, the Sun Belt's leading scorer, opened the game hot from beyond the arc. Beverly Kelley knocked down her first three attempts to help Troy open an early 10-2 lead. The Lady Mavs chipped to end the first quarter down just five, but their shooting would let them down in the second. UTA shot just 2-of-9 in the quarter as Troy outscored the Lady Mavs 18-9 in the period.

The teams flipped momentum in the third quarter. UTA trimmed Troy's lead below double digits on an 8-0 run the pulled the Lady Mavs within seven. UTA knocked down five of its first six shots to open the half.

Troy built up its lead on a quick 5-0 spurt to start the fourth before Wainwright brought UTA back again. Wainwright knocked down three from long range on consecutive trips down the floor as UTA pulled within seven.

Turning point
With UTA down just seven and poised for a run, Beverly Kelley scored on three-straight trips down the floor and extended Troy's lead back into double digits.

Key Stats
UTA had more than 20 turnovers for the third time in four games. … The 26 fourth-quarter points tied for the most in a quarter this season for the Lady Mavs.

Notable
Cierra Johnson returned from a six-game absence and had four points, six assists and two steals. The two steals moved Johnson (71) up to a tie for seventh in single-season UTA history. … VanDijk moved into a tie for eighth with her 51st block of the season. Troy leads the all-time series 5-2 and has won the last two.

Up next
UTA heads into the Sun Belt Championship as the No. 6 seed. UTA takes on No. 3 Louisiana in the first round. The Lady Mavericks are making just their second-ever appearance in the SBC tournament.

Quotable
UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich on the team's performance:
"It is a matter of survive and advance. We really worked really hard to get to this point and obviously this game didn't go how we wanted it to. Troy is a really talented basketball team. When they are focused and on, they are really tough to guard. We didn't really match up with them very well."