Chattanooga's Jasmine Joyner (3) looks to drive past Samford's Ellen Riggins during their game Saturday afternoon at McKenzie Arena. UTC fought back from a deficit to down the Bulldogs, 51-45.
photo by Dennis Norwood
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team outscored Samford 18-7 in the fourth quarter for a come-from-behind 51-45 win over the Bulldogs in Southern Conference action at the McKenzie Arena.
Chattanooga improves to 14-9 overall and 8-1 in conference play while the Bulldogs fall to 9-15 on the year and 2-7 against the SoCon.
The Mocs shot 57.1 percent (4-7) in the final period and were 9-of-12 from the free throw line. Junior Chelsey Shumpert (Paducah, Ky.) and senior Jasmine Joyner (Southaven, Miss.) combined for 11 of the Mocs’ 18 points in the quarter.
Shumpert was 4-of-4 from the free throw line, all in the fourth quarter, and had 11 points.
Joyner chipped in nine points and had a team-high eight rebounds. Junior Keiana Gilbert (Pulaski, Tenn.) led all scorers with 14 points in the game, making 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. She added five rebounds and four assists while playing all 40 minutes.
With UTC trailing 43-38 in the fourth, Joyner drained a 3-pointer with 5:50 to play, sparking a 13-2 run by the Mocs. Keiana Gilbert got a block to stop the Samford offense and Aryanna Gilbert (Pulaski, Tenn.) took a pass from Joyner for a layup to tie the game for the third and final time, 43-43, with 4:56 remaining.
Chattanooga was 8-of-8 from the free throw line the rest of the way and held Samford to just 1-of-7 from the field in the final 4:27. The Bulldogs were 3-of-15 in the final period, 1-of-8 from the 3-point line and never made it to the charity stripe.
After falling behind 7-2 in the first quarter, the Mocs used a 9-0 run to take a four-point lead. The second quarter would see the lead change three times with Samford outscoring Chattanooga 12-9 in the frame and carry a 21-20 lead into halftime.
The Bulldogs, held to just 2-of-6 from behind the 3-point line, continued its push into the third quarter and shot 54.5 percent, leading 38-33 heading into the final period.
The Mocs, who lead the SoCon in free throw percentage, made just 2-of-6 from the stripe in the opening half. It would be a different story in the second, making 5-of-5 from the line in the third quarter and 9-of-12 in the final. UTC was 16-of-23 for the game.
The Mocs were just 15-of-39 from the field, its fewest made and attempted shots this season. Chattanooga outscored the Bulldogs 20-16 in the paint but Samford had 18 points off 10 Chattanooga turnovers compared to the Mocs’ 12 on 13 Bulldog miscues.
The Samford bench outscored UTC 20-10 led by Katie Allen who had a team-high nine points in 19 minutes. She was 3-of-5 from the 3-point line. Lydia McGee had eight points and a game-high nine rebounds. Stevens dished out seven assists and had four points.
The Bulldogs were 16-of-48 (33.3%) for the game, the fewest shots made against UTC this season and 8-of-29 from the 3-point line. SU was perfect from the free throw line, making all five attempts.
Chattanooga will hit the road for a three-game swing beginning Friday at East Tennessee State. The game is slated to tip off at 7 p.m. at Brooks Gym on the ETSU campus.