ARLINGTON, Texas – The UTA women's basketball team picked up a historic 60-54 win over SFA in the opening round of the WNIT on Thursday night at the College Park Center.
With the win, the Lady Mavs advance to the second round to face TCU in Fort Worth on Saturday, March 23 at 2 p.m. The win also gives head coach
Krista Gerlich her 100th victory at UTA, secured the program's first postseason tournament victory and gave the Lady Mavs 24 wins on the season, which ties the program's all-time single-season win total (2006-07; 24-9 overall, Head Coach Donna Capps).
Cierra Johnson finished with a game-high 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, 1-of-2 from behind the arc and a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. C. Johnson also added five steals and three boards in 28 minutes.
Daiane Machado chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds off the bench, while
Aysia Evans added seven points and a pair of assists.
Katie Ferrell registered six points, six boards, three assists, three steals and a block.
The Ladyjacks (25-7) jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead on the second of two first-quarter treys by Chanell Hayes. SFA knocked down 80 percent of their shots in the opening quarter of play, but the Lady Mavericks (24-7) would stay in the game by doubling the number of shots SFA attempted and forcing the Ladyjacks into five first period turnovers. As a result, the game was tied 19-19 heading into the second quarter of play.
UTA opened the second quarter on a 15-2 run, increasing their lead to 34-21 with nearly five minutes left in the second quarter. SFA then used a 15-2 run of their own to tie the game at 36-36 with 23 seconds left in the half. A buzzer beating turn-around jumper from Ferrell gave the Lady Mavericks a two-point lead, 38-36, at the intermission.
The Lady Mavs would extend their lead to 47-41 midway through the third quarter, but a 5-0 run by SFA to close out the third quarter cut the UTA lead down to three points (49-46) heading into the fourth.
Trailing UTA 49-46 to start the final quarter, the Ladyjacks opened with a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the contest since the opening quarter, as a pair of layups and a jumper forced UTA to call a timeout trailing 52-49.
C. Johnson's three-point play tied the game at 54-54, before Evans' jumper gave UTA a 56-54 lead (4:22). The Lady Mavericks would hold SFA scoreless the rest of the way to pick up the 60-54 victory.
UTA NOTES
- Win marks the 100th win for head coach Krista Gerlich at UTA (100-82 in 6 seasons)
- Win also gives UTA their 24th win of the season, tying program record for wins in a single-season
- The 60-54 win over SFA is the 1st postseason win in program history
- Cierra Johnson moved into 7th place on the UTA career scoring list (1,373 points)
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WNIT 2ND ROUND TICKETS
Tickets for the UTA/TCU matchup are available through the TCU Ticket Office (
www.GoFrogs.com, 877-828-3764) Tickets start at $11 for adults, $6 for youth & $4 for groups.
Click HERE to purchase tickets
