By Cassie Logan | @c4ssielogan

ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington women's basketball coach Krista Gerlich traded her clipboard for a headset as she joined veteran play-by-play voice Ron Thulin on TV telecasts to call Dallas Wings games over the summer.

Gerlich was a color analyst and sat in on three games at College Park Center, including matchups against the Los Angeles Sparks, her favorite of the trio, San Antonio Silver Stars and Indiana Fever.

"They said just act like you're watching a game and tell me what you see," Gerlich said. "I watch basketball on purpose. I watch it as a coach or a player, so that helped.

"Once I got into it, the nerves went away. You forget that you're on TV and that someone's listening to you."

Thulin is regularly joined on the broadcast by TCU head coach Raegan Pebley, though a few scheduling conflicts opened the spot that Gerlich would fill. Her name came to Thulin's mind after realizing she was the head coach at UTA, who calls CPC a shared home with the Wings.

Not only was proximity a factor, but Thulin also recognized the Spearman, Texas native as a former Texas Tech Lady Raider from his time calling games in the early 90's. Gerlich played shooting guard from 1989-1993 and her stellar career included a trip to the 1993 NCAA National Championship.

Gerlich said she received a call from Thulin on a Friday night in June during her daughter's 17th birthday party asking to call a game the following night. Though it startled her at first, it quickly motivated her to turn the idea into reality. Being a member of the media was unfamiliar, but it helped to know she'd be on her home court speaking about the sport she's known her entire life.

Thankfully, Gerlich knew every starter for the LA Sparks. The shoot around consisted of her talking to head coach Brian Agler about some pointers for the job, taking note of what they were working on in practice, key terms, and the game plan LA would use that night.

One hurdle Gerlich had to overcome prior to putting on the headset was ability to speak about the game rather than watch it silently. At one point, Gerlich doubted if she had enough stamina to discuss an entire four quarters, but all that went away when she stuck to what she knew best.

"Ron is awesome to work with," Gerlich said. "He would lead me into questions and he told me to act like we're sitting on a couch, watching the game and just talking basketball. The first game I was so nervous, but after it was over, I was like okay I want to do that again."

Gerlich said it was difficult to sit behind press row without access to coaching as she's used to on the CPC court. Keeping in mind how she felt from past negative tones about her team, Gerlich was careful with the way she went about analyzing. And as a commentator for the home team, it was easier to return positive feedback without having to be overly critical.

"I didn't want to step on anybody's toes," Gerlich said. "There's a million ways to defend a ball screen that can get the job done. It was hard not to coach, but it was fun whenever it was a positive thing because you could really celebrate it."

Gerlich not only broke down those WNBA games, but also studied the differences between women's basketball at a professional and collegiate level. Practices are less intense and coaches act more like directors rather than teachers when executing game plans due to the high level of prowess as a pro.

Despite distinctions in day-to-day activity, Gerlich gained access to practices and shoot around, and plans to incorporate drills and pro terminology into her coaching for UTA.

"These girls are professionals in their sport," Gerlich said. "We really still have to teach how to guard a ball screen, whereas the professionals can just say we're going to do this. There's little x's and o's that you see or a little drill here and there that we will definitely take and use."

Gerlich dipped her toes into the media's world of sports, and just as she was able to give her time and expertise to the Wings, Dallas was able to give back to UTA for seasons to come.

"It made me realize what CPC could be like for us," Gerlich said. "The Wings are getting people on campus that love women's basketball. It just validated that CPC is a great environment for basketball. I hope that will carry over to UTA's games because it was really fun to be a part of that."