The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga freshmen saw a majority of the playing time in the second half and rookie Chelsey Shumpert (Paducah, Ky.) drained two free throws with 2.1 seconds to play to lead Chattanooga to a 59-57 win over Colorado State on the final day of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Showdown. UTC improves to 5-3 overall and the Rams drop to 4-3.
Senior Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.), playing all 40 minutes Sunday, converted a 3-point play to give Chattanooga a 57-56 lead with 1:20 to play. On the other end, senior Alex Black was called for her fifth foul, sending CSU’s Gritt Ryder to the line. After missing the first shot, Ryder converted on the second for the third tie of the game with 51 seconds on the clock.
Chattanooga missed a jumper, and after an offensive rebounds, the Lady Mocs missed again with Ryder grabbing the defensive board and the Rams called for time to set up their final shot with just 16 seconds to play. Colorado State’s A.J. Newton held the ball in the back court for a few seconds before driving to the basket for a final shot. However, she was out of control and fell to floor and lost the ball out of bounds under her basket.
Chattanooga took over and head coach Jim Foster called for back-to-back timeouts to set up the final play. Shumpert cut in front of the defenders in a full court press with 4.8 seconds to play and fielded the inbound pass. She cross the center line and headed to the middle of the court when Newton was called for a flagrant foul for grabbing her arm and holding on.
Shumpert calmly took the line and drained both free throws. Chattanooga got the ball back and was fouled on the inbounds pass, but failed to convert the first of a 1-and-1. With 2.1 seconds on the clock, Foster put senior Faith Dupree (Knoxville, Tenn.) and freshman Jasmine Joyner (Southaven, Miss. ) on the endline to shield the inbounds pass. A last ditch effort by Ellen Nystrom fell short and the Lady Mocs came away with the win.
Hall recorded her third double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 rebounds to go along with three assists, two blocked shots and two steals. Also in double figures was Joyner with a career-high 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and a pair of free throws. Freshman Moses Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) was 4-of-8 on the day and 2-of-3 from the 3-point line for 10 points and six rebounds. Shumpert chipped in eight points and three assists.
Colorado State had three players in double figures. Elin Gustavsson just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds while Sam Martin nearly hit for doubles as well with nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds. A.J. Newton tossed in 12 points and Ellen Nystrom had 11 points and six rebounds.
Chattanooga was outscored in the paint 20-16 but had 15 points off 12 Ram turnovers while committing just six of their own. The Lady Mocs bench contributed 33 points and the freshmen accounted for 28 of UTC’s 36 second half points.
The Lady Mocs were forced to make a comeback for the third straight day after trailing by 15 points with 13:32 to play in the game. Chattanooga’s largest lead of the game was a three-point lead at the 18:26 mark of the first half.
Chattanooga will have Monday and Tuesday off before returning to the practice arena on Wednesday. UTC’s next game will be at Jacksonville State on December 10 following fall exams.