UT Arlington women pull away in second half to beat Appalachian St.
After shooting only 24 percent from the field in the first half Thursday at College Park Center, UT Arlington turned things around in the second half for a 55-45 victory over Appalachian State.
The Mavericks (14-10, 8-7 Sun Belt) forced the Mountaineers (11-13, 6-9) into 25 turnovers, including 14 steals in the team’s best defensive performance since the start of conference play. Freshman guard Cierra Johnson was one of three Mavericks players in double figures with 10 points and led UTA defensively with five steals.
“That’s our philosophy; sometimes offensively you’re not going to be hitting shots,” UTA coach Krista Gerlich said. “But you can always play defense, and this was a good example of turning our defense into offense.”
Appalachian State came in averaging 70 points a game on offense, the third-best mark in the Sun Belt.
But with the Mavericks nursing a 35-29 lead midway through the second half, guard Chaun Williams found forward Morgan Holly for a leaner inside, and Johnson followed up with a steal and transition basket to give UTA a double-digit lead, which the Mavericks maintained the rest of the way.
Morgan Holly scored eight of her team-high 12 points during a crucial 13-4 second-half run. Point guard LaShanda Green also score 12, with seven assists and three steals.
“The [Appalachian State] defense was sagging off to help on Rebekah [Van Dijk],” Holly said. “I knew I had to step up and knock down big shots.”
Appalachian State forward Maryah Sydnor led all scorers with 18 points and collected eight rebounds, but the Mavericks’ defense stifled the rest of the Mountaineers and allowed Appalachian State just seven second-half field goals.
The win was the UTA’s fifth in its last six games, with just five games left in the regular season. The Mavs will host Louisiana-Lafayette, which is just a half-game ahead of UTA for fifth place in the Sun Belt standings, on Saturday at College Park Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
This story was originally published February 19, 2015 at 9:53 PM with the headline "UT Arlington women pull away in second half to beat Appalachian St.."