There were not many points scored between UT-Arlington and Georgia State women’s basketball on Thursday at the Sports Arena. The final result would be 45-39 in favor of the Mavericks. The Panthers’ record now stands at 7-8 and 2-4 in the Sun Belt.
“I thought, defensively, we played pretty well,” head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. “We had a lot of energy. Offensively, we struggled a little bit. I thought we didn’t get as many fast break points as we usually do. I thought, too, we forced some shots, especially late down the stretch in the game.”
First Half
The game started with a slow start, as four minutes in, the only points of the game would come from a layup by the Mavericks’ freshman center Rebekah Van Dijk for a 2-0 lead for her team. She would then score the next two points for UT-Arlington as they went ahead 4-0.
Senior guard Chaun Williams later made a three-pointer increasing the Mavericks’ lead to 7-0. After Williams was charged with a foul against Kayla Nolan, she made one of two free throws for the Panthers’ first point of the game.
UT-Arlington would maintain their six-point advantage with leads of 9-3 and 11-5 before Georgia State would embark on a 7-0 run that included a three-point shot by Makeba Ponder, a layup from Ashley Watson and two made free throws by Brittany Logan. The run gave the Panthers their first lead of the game at 12-11.
Gaby Moss then drained a three to extend the run to 10-0 and the Georgia State lead to 15-11. Haley Gerrin would then make the scoreboard as her first two points of the game expanded the Panthers’ run 12-0 and the lead to 17-11.
The Panthers would maintain their four-point lead with scores of 17-13 and 19-15 before freshman forward Artavia Ford made a mid range jump shot as the half expired, producing a halftime score of 19-17 in Georgia State’s favor.
Second Half
UT-Arlington would trim their deficit to 19-18 with another basket by Van Dijk. Two more points from Ponder and four more by Logan equaled a 6-0 Panthers as Georgia State went ahead by seven with the score being 25-18.
The Mavericks would later get a three from junior point guard LaShanda Green as well as another layup from Van Dijk and one from senior guard Tahlia Pope, to tie the game at 25 with a 7-0 scoring run.
This would be followed by a 9-0 Georgia State run that included four more points each from Logan and Ponder as well as a layup from Miranda Smith, prompting a Mavericks timeout.
UT-Arlington responded with an 8-0 run that included three points each from Johnson and Van Dijk along with a layup by redshirt junior forward Morgan Hunt. This got the Mavericks within one at 34-33.
Van Dijk was then charged with a foul against Logan, who made one of two free throws bringing the score to 35-33 in favor of the Panthers, but Hunt made a pair of free throws after being fouled by Kennesha Nichols.
UT-Arlington then would get two more points each from Van Dijk and Johnson taking a 39-35 lead. Nolan then made one free throw after being fouled by UT-Arlington junior guard Brittany Treas. Johnson would later increase her point output to eight as the Mavericks led 41-36.
Two made free throws by Williams extended the Mavericks’ run to 9-3 and their lead to 44-36. With over 16 seconds remaining, a three from Ashlee Cole cut the Panthers’ deficit to five at 44-39, prompting a Georgia State timeout.
The Mavericks would get one more point courtesy of a made free throw by Green after being fouled by Smith. UT-Arlington would go on to win by a final of 45-39.
The Panthers will take to the court again on Saturday as they hit the road to face Appalachian State at 1 p.m.
| Georgia State | UT-Arlington |
|---|---|
| Logan: 12 points, 12 rebounds | Ponder: nine points |
| Van Dijk: 14 points, 12 rebounds | Johnson: eight points |
