MONROE, La. – Rebekah VanDijk scored a team-high 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds as UT Arlington completed an 80-53 victory over ULM in women's basketball action on Thursday evening (Feb. 15).
 
VanDijk, who finished 10-of-13 from the floor and 1-of-2 from the free throw line, was joined by Crystal Allen (14 points), Shelby Richards (11) and Daiane Machado (10) among double-figure scorers for the Lady Mavericks, who improved to 15-10 overall and 9-5 in conference play on the season. Collectively, UT Arlington knocked down 33-of-66 (50 percent) from the floor and 9-of-12 (75 percent) from the free-throw line.
 
ULM (4-20, 1-12 Sun Belt) was led in scoring by the duo of Gabriella Cortez (21 points) and Logan Oestreich (10) while Arsula Clark collected a team-best seven rebounds. While the Warhawks struggled from the floor, hitting 20-of-53 (38 percent), they were successful on all six trips to the free-throw line.
 
"It was a frustrating second half," ULM head coach Jeff Dow said. "We didn't have the balanced scoring we need to give ourselves a chance to win. Teams have been keying on Arsula Clark, and she never really got it going tonight. Gabby Cortez played a solid game, shot 8-of-14 from the field including 3-of-8 from 3, and finished with 21 points. Logan Oestreich did some nice things offensively off the bench."
 
The Warhawks used buckets by LaTangellia Walker and Cortez to trim an 11-point halftime deficit to seven in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but UTA countered with free throws by Laurynn McGowen and a layup off the hand of Richards to again stretch the lead to double figures. ULM briefly trimmed the margin to eight, following a Cortez trey, but it was a 9-0 run that included four points each from VanDijk and McGowen that provided the Lady Mavericks with a 59-42 edge.
 
Cortez broke the scoreless skid with a series of free throws, following a foul by Richards, but Allen closed out the quarter with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to provide UTA a 62-44 lead.
 
With its offense clicking on all cylinders from the final four minutes of the third quarter, UTA scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter as it built a 27-point advantage. Highlighting the 9-0 run for the Lady Mavericks was Kelsey Johnson, who scored seven points.
 
Cortez and Oestreich combined for four points for ULM, but the combination of Richards in the paint and Allen from 3-point range resulted in a 76-48 lead for the Lady Mavericks. Oestreich accounted for the final five Warhawk points of the game to reach double figures for the first time this season.
 
VanDijk scored the first four points of the contest, but a key 3-pointer from Cortez and an old fashioned three-point play by Clark allowed ULM to grab a 6-4 lead at the 7:08 mark. VanDijk singlehandedly scored the next six-straight points, providing the Lady Mavericks with a four-point advantage.
 
Diamond Brooks drove past the UTA defense for a layup and Cortez added a jumper to force the second tie of the game at 10-all. A back-and-forth battle ensued over the next 3:26 of the frame as the two teams traded the lead three times before reaching a 15-15 deadlock on a layup by UTA's Aysia Evans. ULM capped off a 7-for-18 performance in the quarter with an 18-15 advantage as Oestreich knocked down a long distance 3-pointer following a pass from Clark.
 
The Warhawks stretched their lead to five points inside the opening minute of the second when Clark knocked down a jumper. UTA answered with a 9-0 run, behind five points from Allen, to take at 24-20 lead when Allen drained a 3-pointer at the 7:25 mark. Walker answered with a trey of her own, but points in the paint by VanDijk, Richards and Evans allowed UTA to stretch its lead to 32-25 less than two minutes later.
 
A series of Warhawk 3-pointers by Cortez and Destini Lunsford trimmed the UTA lead to two, 35-33, with 2:51 remaining. UTA answered by scoring 11 of the next 13 points, including six from Machado during a 1:22 stretch, to take a 46-35 lead into the intermission.
 
"We had a very disappointing finish to the first half," Dow said. "We played fairly well offensively in the first half. We had some pretty good looks when we weren't turning the ball over. We're down one with just over two minutes left in the first half and UTA closed out the second quarter on a 10-0 run.
 
"It's hard to win when you give up 31 points in a quarter like we did in the second period. Defensively, we just had too many breakdowns in communication. We played a match-up zone, but our primary focus was on protecting the paint. We gave up too many easy looks inside."
 
The Warhawks now turn their attention to Texas State, who makes its trip to Monroe on Saturday at 12 p.m.