The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team put four scorers in double figures and shot a season-high 46.6 percent but fell 79-76 to No. 23 Indiana Thursday night at the McKenzie Arena.
Junior Keiana Gilbert (Pulaski, Tenn.) scored a season-high 19 points with six rebounds and five assists. She was 8-of-13 from the field with two 3-pointers in 36 minutes. Joining her in double digits were seniors Queen Alford (Decatur, Ga.) with 17 points and Jasmine Joyner (Southaven, Miss.) with 15.
Freshman Lakelyn Bouldin was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 from the free throw line for 10 points in her third game.
With Indiana leading 75-70 with 3:05 to play, Joyner recorded her fourth block of the game, rejecting Tyra Buss’ layup. Shumpert grabbed the rebound and two quick passes later, Gilbert connected on a layup to make it 75-72 at the 2:17 mark. Aryanna Gilbert (Pulaski, Tenn.) managed a steal on the ensuing possession and a pair of offensive rebounds led to a Keiana Gilbert layup with 1:22 remaining in the game to make it 75-74.
After a pair of Hoosier free throws, Keiana Gilbert pulled the Mocs back to within one point on another layup, making it 77-76 with just 44 seconds to play. Alexis Gassion managed a jumper 22 seconds later making it 79-76.
Chattanooga had a chance on their end of the court, but a turnover gave the ball back to Indiana with less than eight seconds. After a pair of fouls, Gassion missed both free throws and Gilbert’s desperation shot at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
Chattanooga falls to 1-2 on the year with its first back-to-back home losses since falling to No. 1 Tennessee and Auburn at the start of the 2004-05 season. Indiana improves to 3-0.
Both teams had a strong start to the game, shooting 50 percent in the first quarter and tied 19-19. Chattanooga outscored Indiana 16-10 in the paint in the opening frame and had six second chance points on four offensive rebounds.
Indiana outscored the Mocs 18-13 in the second quarter, holding UTC to just 5-of-15 from the field, to take a 37-32 lead into the half. The Hoosiers dominated the paint in the period 14-2 but the Mocs shot 3-of-8 from beyond the arc.
After trailing 37-32 at the half, the Mocs outscored the Hoosiers 24-20 in the third and led three times. They were 6-of-9 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Joyner led Chattanooga with nine points in the quarter making a pair of 3-pointers and was 3-of-4 on free throws.
In the final period, Indiana got out to a 67-60 lead less than three minutes in. Chattanooga answered with a 10-4 run, cutting the advantage to 71-70 with 4:35 to play.
Chattanooga was 27-of-58 from the field and hit a season-high eight 3-pointers. The Mocs made 14-of-17 from the free throw line and had 10 assists.
Indiana outscored UTC 46-36 in the aint and 14-6 off turnovers, forcing the Mocs in to 10 on the night. Chattanooga had 12 second chance points on 11 offensive rebounds and the Hoosiers’ bench outscored the Mocs 22-15. UTC outrebounded Indiana 33-31 with the difference being 11-9 on the offensive glass.
Joyner led the Mocs with nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Alford pulled down six boards with two assists.
Chattanooga heads to Louisville, Ky., this weekend for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge. UTC will take on Lafayette College Saturday at 2 p.m. followed by a matchup with Bowling Green Sunday afternoon in the early game. Monday night, the Mocs will face host #5 Louisville in the finale that tips at 7:30 p.m.