University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Chelsey Shumpert (25) drives around a pick set by teammate Jasmine Joyner (3) in the #17 ranked Mocs' opening Southern Conference tournament game against UNCG. Shumpert popped the nets for 13 points as UTC won big by a 78-44 score.
photo by Dennis Norwood
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Jasmine Joyner (Southaven, Tenn.) posted a double-double with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds and led the Mocs to a 78-44 win over UNCG Thursday afternoon at Kimmel Arena.
Joyner was 9-for-10 on the day from the field and pulled down eight defensive boards. She added four blocked shots to her SoCon record for 122 on the year. She was joined in double figures by sophomore Chelsey Shumpert (Paducah, Ky.) with 13 points and senior Destiny Bramblett (Radcliff, Ky.) with 10. The pair combined for five of Chattanooga’s eight 3-pointers.
Chattanooga outscored UNCG 38-20 in the paint and 25-16 off turnovers.
UTC outrebounded the Spartans 44-28 and scored 11 points off 11 offensive boards. The Mocs shot 57.4 percent for the day making 31-of-54 while holding UNCG to a 28.8 percent performance.
UTC got out to a 10-0 lead just 2:52 into the game and it would be another 1:08 before the Spartans found the rim to make it 10-2 with 16 minutes to go in the first half. Chattanooga rebuilt its lead to 13-2 on a free throw and layup from Joyner but UNCG managed to get to within six points at the 9:55 mark on a jumper from Lucy Mason.
The Mocs got back out front 19-9 with a layup from junior Alicia Payne (Memphis, Tenn.), but a 3-pointer from Shanese Harris cut the lead to 19-12 with 7:27 to play in the opening frame. That’s the closest it would be for the Spartans who scored just once more in the half and Chattanooga led 33-13 at the break.
The second half saw the Mocs push their lead out to as much as 45 points on a jumper by sophomore Sydney Vanlandingham (Hermitage, Tenn.) with 5:42 to play. All 10 Chattanooga players scored in the contest with the Mocs bench getting 22 points compared to the Spartans 24. UTC dished out 13 assists, but turned the ball over 20 times and had nine steals.
Payne dropped in eight first half points while freshman Keiana Gilbert (Columbia, Tenn.) added six points and seven rebounds. Payne dished out four assists and had two blocks while senior Ka’Vonne Towns (Lilburn, Ga.) grabbed four steals and had three assists.
UNCG’s Lucy Mason had a team-high 15 points, 11 in the second half, and six rebounds. She was the only Spartan in double figures. Keli Foster, with a pair of treys, had eight points off the bench and Jarae Savage had a team-best seven rebounds.
Chattanooga will take on No. 5 Furman game Friday at 11:00 a.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center. The Paladins came away with a 65-54 win over Samford in Game Two.
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Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year Alicia Payne (1) sets to defend against the Spartans. Payne finished with eight points, two steals, three rebounds and a blocked shot. The #17 Mocs move on to play Furman, a 65-54 game two winner over Samford, tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the U.S. Cellular center.
photo by Dennis Norwood