by ARLINGTON, Texas – UTA women’s basketball returned to College Park Center for the first time in 2017 and avenged its loss in the first round of the 2016 SBC Championship with a 79-66 victory over Louisiana Thursday night.
The Lady Mavericks improved to 12-4 overall and 5-1 in league play, while Louisiana dropped to 10-5 and 4-2. UTA snapped the Ragin’ Cajuns’ three-game win streak in the all-time series, though Louisiana still leads 13-6.
It was a team effort as four Mavericks scored in double figures. Cierra Johnson was one rebound shy of UTA’s third triple-double in school history with 24 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Her 11 assists were a career-best and a tie for seventh in a single game. The performance raised the guard’s assist total to 200, making her just the 11th player in history to do so. Her nine field goals tied her best.
Erick Mattingly had a career performance as she matched her 10 points and bested her record with eight steals, which tied for second in a single game in UTA history. Crystal Allen was clutch for the Lady Mavericks from long range with a 4-for-4 clip, leading to a career-high 14 points and five field goals. Lauren Billie (Creek/Seminole) came off the bench and added 8 points for the Mavs in 16 minutes of play.
Louisiana senior guard Jaylyn Gordon, who leads the conference in points per game and 3-point shots per game, walked away with 23 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc.
Once trailing by 15 in the second quarter, the Lady Mavericks returned from the break with a will to overcome and conquer. A clutch 3-pointer from Allen tied the ballgame at 56 midway through the fourth quarter, instilling an unrelenting energy for the remainder of the night. UTA would work up a late 10-0 run that included a streak of seven-straight shots.
The Lady Mavs sharpened their offensive prowess in the third frame as 3-pointers from Richards, Billie and Johnson lifted UTA to withing five to spark hopes of a comeback. The Lady Mavs opened the second half shooting 53.8 percent and connected on 4-of-7 shots from beyond the arc to close Louisiana’s lead 50-46 and drain momentum. A 13-2 run capped by a 3 from Johnson brought the Lady Mavs within five. The junior was key in the run with a pair of 3s and took advantage of two shots at the charity stripe.
Mattingly hit the first shot of the night, but Louisiana came out firing from the floor and shot 64.3 percent with 2-of-3 3-pointers made to fuel an 8-0 run to take a 21-9 lead. VanDijk put up a layup to open the second quarter and UTA was 4-for-5 from the floor to spur a 7-2 that lessened the lead to 10 points, though Louisiana would control the lead at halftime 39-25.
UPCOMING GAME
The Lady Mavericks wrap up a two-game stay in Arlington against ULM (2 p.m.) Saturday on ESPN3. Next week, UTA travels to the Carolinas for a Thursday meeting at Coastal Carolina before turning to Appalachian State on Saturday.
