UTC true freshman Lakelyn Bouldin (33) drives through the Florida defense during the Mocs' 72-61 loss to the #20 Gators (2-0) Monday night at McKenzie Arena. Chattanooga (1-1) will entertain Indiana Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.
photo by Dennis Norwood
UTC women’s basketball coach Jim Foster needs to moon light as a Marine recruiter.
After the Mocs lost to visiting and No. 20 ranked Florida, 72-61, an unhappy Foster made it quite clear that he is looking for five players who will come ready to play. And play tough.
“We are not tough enough,” said the hall of fame coach now in his fourth season with UTC. “And I will find five players who are.
“Some of our players don’t come to the arena ready to compete at this (top 20 teams) level.”
Foster also stressed that to win at this level against the SEC, Big 10, ACC and other conference opponents, his players must be mentally tough every day and noted all of his players are not mentally ready every day.
Florida, led by Eleanna Christinaki with 14 points, came out strong shooting 52.6% (10-19) from the field compared to the Mocs at 28.6% (4-14) to lead 23-13 at the end of the first quarter.
“We didn’t move the ball enough early on, didn’t make adjustments and had little communication,” said senior center Jasmine Joyner who led the Mocs with 16 points and eight boards.
Foster stated that, “But once we got in the lane and then kicked the ball out to the sides we did much better.
Off The Bench: True freshman Lakelyn Bouldin and sophomore transfer Shelbie Davenport came off the bench – they played the entire second half - for a combined 23 points, five rebounds, four steals compared to starters Queen Alford, Keinana Gilbert and Aryanna Gilbert who totaled five points, five rebounds and six assists.
“Lakelyn competes and has a big heart,” Foster stated.
Rally Caps: The Mocs trailed as many as 13 at 33-20 at 6:03 of the second quarter, but a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch by Chelsey Shumpert (8 points, 4 assists on the night) and Davenport at the buzzer trimmed the Gators lead to seven at 35-28.
“Making that 3-pointer at the end of the half was huge for my confidence,” said Davenport.
2nd Half: The Mocs came out strong after halftime as Davenport (5 pts)(Jasmine 6 pts) and Bouldin (3 pts) combined for 14 points to pull within one at 43-42 at 5:15.
Those three scored all the Mocs points in the third quarter and trailed by one, 52-51.
Only Lead: The Mocs took their only lead at 51-50 late in the third on a Bouldin jumper, and tied the score at 56-56 on a jumper by Keiana Gilbert at 7:56, but could never re-gain the lead again.
Gator Hot Shooter: Florida sophomore Eleanna Christinaki led all scorers with 29 points and added nine boards.
“We didn’t do much to stop her,” said Foster.
Have to Compete Better: “We know we can compete (against the top teams), but we didn’t play our best tonight," stated Davenport.
“We cannot hang our heads after this loss. We have to be tough and be more aggressive.”
Next Game: Come Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. when Indiana comes to McKenzie Arena, Foster will but his toughest five on the court.
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net