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ARLINGTON, Texas - A top of the table clash is set for College Park Center as UTA hosts Little Rock on Thursday in a battle of two of the Sun Belt's top teams.

The Lady Mavericks are coming off their first home setback of conference play that dropped them to 15-5 overall and 8-2 in the league, while Little Rock enters 17-6 and undefeated in SBC play through its 11 games. The contest is a part of UTA's annual Kid's Day at CPC, with tipoff schedule for 11:30 a.m.

"We have told them all year that our biggest game is the next game and that has been the mentality all year long," UTA coach Krista Gerlich said. "It does speak a little bit louder when an undefeated team is coming to your facility. It's a team we haven't beaten since my tenure here. It is a big game and we can muddy the conference waters if we can take care of business and compete at the level that we know we can."

Tickets are available for all UTA games at UTATickets.com. All Lady Mavericks games are broadcast on Mavs All-Access with Amanda Kent calling the action. The subscription based service starts at $9.99 per month and gives fans access to all Lady Mavs games.

UTA had its six-game home winning streak snapped last Saturday when it started slow against Texas State and couldn't complete the comeback. UTA trailed by as much as 21, but trimmed the deficit to six late in the fourth quarter. Five scored in double figures for the Lady Mavs, led by junior center Rebekah VanDijk at 14.

The first quarter has plagued the Lady Maverick squad this season with all five losses coming from poor starts. UTA has been outscored 16.6 to 14.5 in the opening period over the season, but is outscoring the foe by more than 10 points for the final 30 minutes.

"If you go back at the games we have lost I would say it was the first quarter we lost it in and we have to figure that out," Gerlich said. "When we can jump out to a good start they are very successful. It leads to them being confident and clicking better. They know they aren't out of it if they have a poor first quarter, but we have to get where we don't dig ourselves such a hold."

A good start will be key for the Lady Mavs as they hope to end a six-game losing streak to Little Rock as UTA has dropped each game against the Trojans since joining the conference in 2013-14. Gerlich points to the Trojans being a very well coached team as to why they have had the success they have had this year.

"They guard very well and are a great defensive team," Gerlich said. "They are very physical and make it very difficult to score and get offensive rebounds. They take care of the basketball so its hard to turn them over. They understand the system and know who needs the basketball and when. They just don't make many mistakes."

The Lady Mavs have had success in getting teams that are normally good with the ball to turn it over. UTA enters Thursday's game seventh in the nation in turnovers forced per game at 22.8. A big part of that has been the duo of junior Cierra Johnson and freshman Ericka Mattingly. Johnson is 17th in Division I at 3.1 steals per game and moved up to sixth in UTA history for steals with three she had against Texas State. Mattingly, equally impressive this season, is 45th in DI at 2.5 steals per game.

The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy. New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your school's ticket office. For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship - Women's Championship - and be sure to follow the #FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.