Ladyjacks cut UTA's perfect start short
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Stephen F. Austin put a stop to UTA's perfect record, upsetting the Lady Mavericks 65-60 on Saturday at College Park Center.
The Ladyjacks (5-2) avenged a loss in the 2015-16 season that saw their 17-game home winning streak snapped. The defeat gave UTA its first setback as it went to 5-1 overall. The Lady Mavs entered the contest No. 16 in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Poll.
SFA built up its largest lead of the second half with four minutes remaining at seven points. UTA forced back-to-back turnovers and converted at the end to trim the deficit down to just three. After the teams went back and forth to exchange buckets, Miranda LeJune knocked down a 3-pointer with 15.6 to go to cut the lead back down to three. The Lady Mavs got possession to attempt a game-tying shot, but an offensive foul cut the chance short.
Rebekah VanDijk led UTA on offense for a second-consecutive game, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year. Christina Devers was 3-of-7 from 3-point land on the way to 14 points, 13 coming in the first half before fouling out in the fourth. SFA's Taylor Ross paced the Ladyjacks offense with a team-high 26; she was the lone SFA player in double figures. Ross saw 17 of her points come at the charity stripe.
The free-throw line was a concern for the high-powered offense and despite getting to the line 23 times UTA knocked down just 11, including a 0-8 start to the game.
KEY RUNS
First Half
After SFA opened the game with a 15-2 run, the Lady Mavs responded with a run of their own as VanDijk converted on back-to-back buckets. UTA would take its first lead shortly after ending a 10-2 run.
Second Half
After UTA tied the game midway through the fourth quarter, SFA clamped down on defense and turned the Lady Mavericks over on back-to-back trips down the floor and turned a tie game into a six-point advantage. UTA was unable to overcome the deficit as SFA pulled away late.
KEY STATS
VanDijk led UTA for the second consecutive game in scoring as she had a team-high 20 points to go with 11 rebounds. The double-double was the 29th in her career. VanDijk also had a career-high four steals and swatted away three shots.
UTA turned the ball over 24 times compared to SFA's 22. UTA had 30 fouls in the contest and had two foul out (Johnson and Devers).
YELLOW JACKETS USE THE THREE-BALL TO DEFEAT THE PANTHERS
ATLANTA - Meeting for the 36th time, Georgia State and Georgia Tech battled it out at McCamish Pavilion Saturday afternoon with the Yellow Jackets using 10 three-pointers to win 73-42.
Kennesha Nichols paced the Panthers with nine points and six rebounds. Tiffany Holston added eight rebounds to go with her six points. Kierra Henry, K.K. Williams and Alaysia Mitchell each tallied six points as well.
Georgia Tech used its size advantage to win the rebounding battle which led to 19 second chance points. The Panthers shot 40% from the field in the first quarter, but struggled as the game went on to finish at 25%. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets went shot 35% from the floor and 30% from long range. GT’s 10 three-pointers were too much for GSU to overcome in the end.
Some positives from the game were five blocks and seven steals for the Panther defense. Nichols finished with two blocks while seven different Panthers recorded a steal. The turnover battle was even with both teams committing 17 turnovers.
Next up for Georgia State is a visit to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to take on the Crimson Tide on Dec. 15.