Freshman Rebekah Van Dijk won the opening tip and UT Arlington never looked back as it routed McMurry 82-25 at College Park Center on Wednesday night in nonconference play.

The Lady Mavericks (5-3) opened the game with a 19-0 run and had a near record-breaking performance in the opening half. UTA scored 49 points in the opener, five short of its all-time record for points in a half. The win helped clinch a winning nonconference record for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

"It was a big win for our team tonight and I am very excited about the execution and intensity that we played with," UT Arlington coachKrista Gerlich said. "Our kids really approached it well. We had good intensity and focus and shot the ball well from the 3-point line. We accomplished a lot of our defensive goals and held them to a low offensive output."

UTA will close nonconference play out on Sunday when it travels to face Metroplex rival North Texas at 3:30 p.m. at the Super Pit.

Tahlia Pope and Van Dijk helped dominate the opener, as each was able to command the offensive effort for the Lady Mavericks. Pope hit four of her five 3-point attempts for 15 points in the first, while Van Dijk picked up

10 rebounds to go with eight points.

"It is a good feeling and we worked on our 3-point shooting as a team,"

Gerlich said. "We were just focused and able to knock down the open shot."

Van Dijk, continuing her double-digit streak at eight games, completed her seventh consecutive double-double early in the second half with a layup.

The freshman finished with 12 points, while Pope ended with a game-high 17 and LaShanda Green poured in 11.

The Lady Mavericks' defense, entering the night ranked 22nd in the nation in scoring defense, forced the War Hawks (1-11) into 21 turnovers. UTA took advantage and scored 26 points off of turnovers and held its opponent under 30 points for the second consecutive game.

Amara Wainwright helped UTA's bench outscore McMurry 35-2, the eighth consecutive game that the Lady Mavs' substitutes have outscored the opponent. Wainwright finished with eight points and Krioni Bruce, Chaun Williams and Morgan Holly each had six.

Following its clash with the Mean Green on Sunday, UTA will open up Sun Belt Conference play on Dec. 30 when it hosts Georgia Southern at 5 p.m.