Indiana put together a 19-6 fourth quarter run and came away with a 54-43 win over the Chattanooga women’s basketball team Tuesday night at Assembly Hall in the second round of the Preseason WNIT. The Mocs drop to 2-1 on the year and the Hoosiers improve to 2-0.
Chattanooga will return to Chattanooga to host Southern Miss Friday night at the McKenzie Arena in the consolation round. That game is set to tip off at 6:30 p.m.
With Chattanooga leading 37-35 heading into the final frame, Indiana mounted a comeback led by Tyra Buss.
The Mocs had held the Hoosiers’ top scoring threat to just six points through three quarters. However, she would score 10 of Indiana’s 19 points for the win.
Indiana’s Kym Royster scored four of her six points to start the fourth quarter and put the Hoosiers up 39-37 less than 90 seconds into the quarter. Paired with her bucket to close out the third quarter, that sparked a 12-0 run by Indiana capped off with six points from Buss.
The Mocs with five points from junior Chelsey Shumpert (Paducah, Ky.), cut the lead to 47-43 with 3:38 to play.
Momentum was shifting Chattanooga’s way when senior Alicia Payne (Memphis, Tenn.) forced Buss into a turnover, but Shumpert’s shot was blocked. Junior Jasmine Joyner grabbed the rebound and sophomore Keiana Gilbert’s jumper was just short. Indiana got the rebound and a 3-pointer the other way made it a seven point game, 50-43 with 2:47 on the clock.
Chattanooga went 0-for-2 the rest of the way with two turnovers and the Hoosier’s added four more points from Buss to secure the win and a trip to Chicago to take on DePaul in the semifinals.
Gilbert led Chattanooga with 13 points and Shumpert added 12 with both making 5-of-10 from the field. Gilbert was 3-of-4 from the free throw line and had five rebounds. Joyner had seven points and 10 rebounds. She had four blocked shots in the game and now has 203, 18 shy of the school record set by Alex Anderson in 2008.
In the third quarter, the Mocs shot 61.5 percent from the field making 8-of-13 with Gilbert and Shumpert combining for 15 of Chattanooga’s 19 points, making 6-of-7 from the field.
The Mocs shot 36.7 percent for the game, making just 18-of-49 and were edged on the boards 33-32. Indiana shot 39 percent on the night and were led in scoring by Buss who had a game-high 16 points and five assists. She added six rebounds and had four turnovers. Amanda Cahill had 13 points and a team-high seven boards while Alexis Glassion chipped in 10 points with six rebounds.
Larry Ward will have the call live on 96.1 The Legend and online at GoMocs.com. Tickets may be purchased at the McKenzie Arena box office or online at GoMocs.com.