Little Rock Set for Battle With Second-Place UTA

Game 24: Little Rock (17-6, 11-0 SBC) at UT Arlington (15-5, 8-2 SBC)
Date	February 9, 2017
Time	11:30 a.m.
Location	Arlington, Texas
Stadium	College Park Center
Stats	Statbroadcast
Audio	KARN The Sports Animal
Video	Little Rock All-Access
Notes	Little Rock | UTA

LITTLE ROCK – The biggest conference matchup of the season awaits the Little Rock women's basketball team on Thursday as the Trojans bring their first-place 11-0 conference record into the home of the second-place UT Arlington Mavericks.
 
The Trojans will get to test their mettle against the team with the second-highest RPI in the Sun Belt with an 11:30 a.m. tipoff at College Park Center. UT Arlington had the league's highest RPI for the large majority of the season until just last week when Little Rock won its 11th consecutive game and the Mavericks lost their second Sun Belt Conference game of the season to Texas State.

The teams enter Thursday with Little Rock ranked No. 48 nationally in RPI and UTA ranked No. 73 as of Tuesday morning.
 
Little Rock has earned that lofty spot in the national rankings thanks to its current 11-game winning streak, a number that is tied for the seventh-longest active winning streak in the nation. The Trojans won against Coastal Carolina at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday to tie a program record for consecutive victories to begin Sun Belt play. A victory over UTA on Thursday would break that record that the team shares with the 2010-11 squad.
 
Little Rock is also receiving three points in the national USA Today Coaches Poll released on Tuesday – up from one point in last week's poll – and is ranked No. 17 in this week's Mid Major Top 25 up from the No. 25 spot last week
 
Kaitlyn Pratt also won the Sun Belt Player of the Week award on Monday for the third time this season, giving a Trojan the award for the third straight week after Sharde' Collins won each of the last two weeks. Pratt scored 20.5 points per game for the Trojans last week and reached 1,000 career points in wins over Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina.
 
The Mavericks – picked third in this year's Sun Belt Preseason Poll are 8-2 in the Sun Belt Conference to sit tied for second place in the league. UT Arlington most recently lost by 6 points at Texas State on Saturday. The Mavericks' only other loss in conference play came against second-place Troy on January 14 by 17 points.
 
Rebekah VanDijk is the Mavericks' top scorer and rebounder, averaging 16.7 points and 9.3 boards per game. She also have 1.5 blocks per game and was the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player of the Year. She has won Sun Belt Player of the Week twice this season and ranks second in the league in points per game, second in field goal percentage and fourth in rebounds per game.
 
Cierra Johnson is the team's top passer with 65 assists on the season. Ericka Mattingly is not far behind with 64. Together, they are fourth and sixth in the conference in assists per game. The pair is also first and second in the conference in steals per game with 3.1 and 2.5, respectively.
 
TIP OFF

• Little Rock has won 11 consecutive games and stands alone in first place in the Sun Belt Conference.
• The Trojans' 11-game winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest active streak in the nation.
• The Trojans have now won at least 11 Sun Belt games for 11 straight years.
• Little Rock received three points in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll, up from one received last week. Trojans are ranked No. 25 in this week's Mid Major Top 25.
• The Trojan offense is scoring 75.8 points per conference game, second-best in the Sun Belt and best in program history for any single season.
• Kaitlyn Pratt was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week for the third time this season on Monday.
• Little Rock has the highest RPI in the Sun Belt this season, ranking 49th in the nation as of Tuesday morning.
• The Trojans have won 10 consecutive conference games at home are 6-0 against UT Arlington since the Mavericks joined the Sun Belt before the 2013-14 season.

           
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your our ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the @FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.