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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Despite a strong defensive effort from UTA's Lady Mavericks, league leader Little Rock closed the game on a 15-6 run over the final four minutes to post its 12th consecutive Sun Belt Conference win, in front of 5,011 on Thursday during UTA Education Day at College Park Center.

Little Rock (18-6, 12-0 Sun Belt Conference) used the furious fourth-quarter run to put away the upset-minded Lady Mavericks (15-6, 8-3 SBC). UTA led for nearly 33 minutes of game action and held the Trojans to 40 percent shooting from the field (19-for-48). LR did its damage with a 20-for-25 line from the charity stripe, with UTA committing 20 turnovers and getting outscored in the paint 30-22.

KEY STRETCHES
First Quarter
The Lady Mavericks opened the game with a bucket from Rebekah VanDijk and after Little Rock answered, UTA went on a 7-0 run, including a three pointer from Christina Devers, to take a 9-2 lead and force a timeout from the Trojans. UTA's defensive effort held Little Rock without a basket for nearly six minutes, before Monique Townson got a bucket at the rim in transition to snap the streak. UTA took an 11-6 lead into the first-quarter break.

Second Quarter
Crystal Allen got the Lady Mavs on the board in the second quarter with a triple at the top of the key with seven minutes left in the quarter. Ronjanae Degray gave the Trojans their first lead with a jumper with 5:26 left in the quarter. UTA got a bucket from Johnson and a triple from Allen to take a 19-15 lead into the media timeout. Cierra Johnson gave the Mavs a 21-19 lead with a bucket at the rim ending the half. Allen led the way for the Mavs with 10 points, with UTA holding Little Rock to 27-percent (6-for-22) from the field. UTA held Little Rock without a field goal over the final 5:26 of the half.

Third Quarter
Johnson got the scoring started in the second half, getting a layup on a nice assist from Allen. Devers stretch the UTA lead to 27-21 with a late bucket on the shot clock. At the 3:11 mark of the quarter, UTA took a quick timeout owning a 28-24 lead. At the end of the third quarter, UTA held on to a 32-30 lead and was still holding LR to 26 percent shooting from the field.

Fourth Quarter
Little Rock came out of the quarter blistering hot, taking a 43-41 lead with a 7-0 run to open the frame. VanDijk evened up the game with a jumper on an assist from Aysia Evans with 4:54 left. Little Rock regained the lead with a bucket in transition. After Little Rock stretched its lead to 47-44, Johnson sank a three at the top of the key with 2:55 left. After a Little Rock timeout, Sharde' Collins sank a big bucket to give the Trojans a 49-46 lead. Collins then got a layup to give the Trojans a 51-46 lead. UTA point guard Ericka Mattingly immediately took the ball to the rim on the ensuing possession and got fouled, hitting one of the free throws. Ronjanae Degray helped seal the win with an offensive rebound and putback for a 53-47 lead.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
UTA was led in scoring by Allen, who registered 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Johnson finished with 15 points and four rebounds, with VanDijk limited to six points and six rebounds. Devers added seven points and two rebounds.

NEXT
The Lady Mavericks return to action on Saturday, hosting Arkansas State in a doubleheader with the men's team. UTA women will kick off the day at 2 p.m. at College Park Center.