Women's Basketball UT Arlington Athletic Media Relations

Gerlich Earns 200th Win as UTA Downs Texas State

SAN MARCOS, Texas – After dropping its last five to in-state rival Texas State, UT Arlington ended the streak Tuesday afternoon with a 32-point victory, the second largest margin in the I-35 series.

The Lady Mavericks (11-11, 6-6 Sun Belt) cruised to an 80-48 win at Strahan Coliseum, earning UTA coach Krista Gerlich the 200th win of her career. UTA also tied its best five-game road trip with a 4-1 record, last achieved in the 1990-91 season. The win lifts UTA by Texas State (10-12, 5-7) into fourth in the Sun Belt standings and is the first time since Jan. 4 that UTA has been at .500.

Rebekah VanDijk led the way with a career-high 26 points on 8-11 shooting. VanDijk earned her ninth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds and also chipped in with three blocks.

Morgan Hunt notched a career mark with 15 points, shooting 6-7 from the field. Amara Wainwright and Cierra Johnson had combined for 15 assists, as each bested their career high. Wainwright finished with eight, while Johnson had seven.

After the Bobcats scored the opening three points, UTA caught fire. The Lady Mavs went on a 20-3 run, turning the Bobcats over eight times as Johnson picked up three steals during the opening quarter. UTA continued to clamp down on the defensive end to extend its lead to 42-16 at the break.

The Lady Mavs shot 69.2 percent in the second quarter as UTA had three in double-digit scoring at the half.

The lead soared beyond 30 points for UTA in the second half despite Texas State finding a rhythm. The Bobcats shot 57.1 percent in the third quarter, however, were outscored 22-19 in the period.

Turning point
It took UTA more than three minutes to get on the board as the Lady Mavs missed their first four shots. UTA then exploded for an 18-0 run before the Bobcats knew what hit them. VanDijk would score nine points during the run on 3-4 shooting.

Key Stats
UTA outscored Texas State 38-12 in the paint and 21-8 in points off turnovers. … The lone statistic the Bobcats held over UTA was a 25-20 advantage in bench points. … Wainwright was one assist short of the sixth best single-game mark in program history.

Notable
UTA earned win 598 in program history. … VanDijk's 10 free throws were a career high. … VanDijk tallied three blocks for 86 in her career. She is four short of tying for seventh all-time.