Recap | Final Stats | Notes

UTA vs. Louisiana
College Park Center - Arlington, Texas
Jan. 18, 2018

Head Coach Krista Gerlich

Opening statement …
"What a game. We needed to win one of those. Even on our home court. I am really proud of all the girls that had to step up in that situation. Lafayette played a great game. It is always a battle between the two of us, our games really go to the wire. Our kids really responded, didn't get down on themselves and let negatives turn into more negatives. They battled through some foul trouble and the fact that we were able to pull that win off with Rebekah (VanDijk) sitting on the bench in the fourth quarter was huge. I am just really proud of a lot of individuals. Daiana (Machado) had a big game. We asked her to play a lot of minutes and not only that but to guard one of their best players, and a very difficult player to defend. She put the ball in the hole and she gave us a spark when she came off the bench in the first quarter. Crystal was big. Her three was huge late and then the free throws but she worked her way into it. She shook off a slow start shooting the basketball. Brooke Alexander, I thought she did a great job, hitting a three in the corner to cut the lead down and then she got a big steal. A lot of little things that I can't mention enough. Kelsey Johnson, I thought she had two big buckets and a rebound after I challenged her in between quarter in the third and fourth. A lot of people who maybe aren't used to stepping in and playing big minutes had to step in and play well for us tonight. Really proud of the team effort."

Sr., G Crystal Allen

On the win …
"I would say from the start we didn't get off to a good start. We were pretty flat from the jump. Sometimes I feel like I can have a part of that, when I;m not making shots and can get down on myself, it affects the team. When that energy is not here, we are all playing flat. When we win, we play with energy. During halftime we had to find a way to get some energy, which is what I think helped lead us to the win. We knew we were all flat from the git go. When we found that energy, we found that win."

On Brooke Alexander's near double-double …
"Brooke, she is actually great. She was improved a lot. She had to sit out because of an ankle injury during the beginig of the season. She took that take to rehab and she jumped right in. Everyone has a slow start when they have to sit out for a while. Once she got into a groove, she was on. When she's hitting threes we all feed off that. When everyone is doing their job we are guaranteed to win. Everyone has to keep doing their job. When Brooke hits a three, gets rebounds, plays defense, it just pumps us all up."

Jr., F Daiane Machado

On the win …
"That was a tough game. You guys know we've not been doing good. We talked a lot about that game. We knew that it was going to be hard. We started slow but our team is doing the right things and our coach put us in the right positions at the right times. As along as we follow our leaders, we can win."