ATLANTA – UT Arlington, one of the nation's top 50 defenses, applied that to Georgia State in a 74-45 romp Saturday in the GSU Sports Arena.
The Mavericks, who allow just 56 points per game, scored 30 points off 18 GSU turnovers today while holding the Panthers to 33 percent from the field on 16-of-48 shots. UT Arlington controlled the boards 38-28 with 15 offensive rebounds.GSU had defeated UT Arlington 68-63 in the Sun Belt opener earlier this season.
“I think UT Arlington came out with a little revenge on their minds and a chip on their shoulder and were clearly the aggressor today,” head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. “We made mistakes and didn't play with maturity to recover. We turned the ball over too much in the first half and dug a big hole. At one point it seemed they had as many offensive rebounds as we did defensive. We were horrible from the free throw line. UT Arlington was picked to finish second and they are beginning to play at that level now it appears.”
The teams started hot and were tied 14-14 just five minutes in. But, GSU finished the first quarter with six turnovers and UT Arlington went on an 11-0 run to close out the first quarter ahead 25-14.
In the second quarter, UT Arlington grew the lead to 18 points at 37-19 at 4:50 and went into halftime with a 37-25 lead. In the first half, UT Arlington took 33 shots and GSU just 17 shots, while GSU had 11 turnovers.
When UT Arlington opened the third quarter with a 13-0 run, they doubled up GSU 50-25 with 6:12 in that period. The lead grew to 32 points at 61-29 with a minute to go in the third quarter.
Georgia State (9-12, 4-8) shot 33% from the field, 33% from beyond the arc and just 40% from the free throw line (6 of 15). Georgia State had more turnovers (18) than baskets made (16). How poor was GSU's shooting? The Panthers missed nine consecutive free throws in the second half before making one with 1:56 left in the game. Sophomore Makeba Ponder scored 12 points, but on 4-of-11 shooting. Tatianna Jackson added 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting with 3-of-5 treys. Haley Gerrin added eight points and five rebounds.
UT Arlington, winners of three of the last four, improved to 10-11 and 5-6 in the Sun Belt. They shot 66.7% in the third quarter (10-of-15) and 45.5% for the game (25-of-55). The Mavs hit 16-of-19 free throws, while blocking six GSU shots. Guards Amara Wainwright and LaShanda Green each scored 16 points with three 3-point baskets each. Guard Cierra Johnson added 15 more points. Six-foot-five center Rebekah VanDijk provided nine points and seven rebounds.
Georgia State goes on the road to face South Alabama on Thursday in Mobile, Ala.
