University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Lakelyn Bouldin scored a season-high Monday night at Cassell Coliseum in a 74-59 loss to Virginia Tech. The Mocs fall to 2-2 on the year and the Hokies remain undefeated at 5-0.
Bouldin was 10-of-22 from the field for a game-high 21 points. She had six rebounds and three assists, all season-highs for the junior. Shelbie Davenport had a season-best 12 points, making 4-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Also scoring in double figures was Morgan Hill.
She scored the Mocs’ first 3-pointer of the game and was 7-of-14 from the charity stripe.
The Hokies outscored the Mocs early with a 17-4 run that started midway through the first quarter to take a 21-8 lead on Chattanooga after the first period. Virginia Tech kept the pedal down in the second, making 11-of-15 (73.3%) in the second frame and led 46-26 at halftime.
The third quarter started with Virginia Tech’s Taylor Emery hitting a jumper to stretch the Hokie lead to its largest, 48-26, for the second time in the game. The Mocs responded with six straight points over the next minute-and-a-half to cut it to 48-32. The teams played even in the third with matching 17-17 efforts.
Chattanooga responded in the fourth behind nine points from Bouldin in the quarter as she drove the basketball and sank a 3-pointer. UTC had a 16-11 advantage in the final period to make it a 15-point game at the end.
The Mocs edged the Hokies 24-22 in the paint with Bouldin scoring half by herself. The Mocs scored 20 points off 18 VT miscues and gave up 11 points on 13 turnovers. The Mocs outrebounded Virginia Tech 39-37 and had 12 points off 11 offensive boards compared to VT’s seven on six offensive rebounds.
The Mocs bench, led by Hill and six points and six rebounds from Eboni Willilams, outscored the Hokies’ reserves 22-19.
Taylor Emery was 8-of-16 from the field for a team-high 20 points. Regan Magarity had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds and added two blocked shots. Dara Mabry was the third VT player in double figures with 14 points, making 4-of-6 from the 3-point line.
Chattanooga returns from its five-day road trip to host Liberty Wednesday night at the Roundhouse at 7:00 p.m. Follow all the action online at GoMocs.com.