The struggles continue for the Chattanooga Lady Mocs basketball team.
The Lady Mocs have lost some lopsided games this fall before coming within a point of winning on Sunday against Austin Peay.
There was hope that the Lady Mocs might get over the hump on Wednesday afternoon against Northern Colorado, but things may have gotten worse instead of better after the Lady Bears handed Chattanooga its fifth straight loss.
The Lady Mocs are now 1-7 following Wednesday’s lackluster 59-42 loss to the Lady Bears, who improve to 3-4 with this latest victory.
The final stat sheet listed the attendance as 1,317, but there were no where near that many folks present.
Chattanooga coach Katie Burrows was upset with her team’s excessive number of turnovers and lack of offensive rebounds in Sunday’s loss. That turnover number was more than cut in half – from 28 to just a dozen – but several other key areas dropped off to keep the Lady Mocs from getting back on the winning side.
“We just have to get some fire about us,” Burrows said in somewhat of an understatement following Wednesday’s setback.
“We did much better with turnovers, but we still didn’t put the ball in the hole. At some point, we have to get this mess cleaned up. I’m not going to quit coaching and I’m sure my girls won’t quit playing. We had some minor victories, but I still don’t feel any better.
“We need someone to pick up the slack. Lakelyn Bouldin is our most consistent player and I know what I’ll get from her every time out, but we need others to do the same.
“Eboni Williams had a weird game as she fouled out, but every one of her fouls came scrambling for a loose ball or trying to help out a teammate. Her being out there would have been a huge difference. We’re still trying to figure things out, but I’d still like to see more fire,” Burrows concluded.
Williams has been one of Chattanooga's better players, but was limited to just two points and two rebounds after picking up her fifth foul midway through the final quarter after logging just 9:55 playing time for the game.
The Lady Bears weren’t very good offensively as they hit only 20 of 59 field goal attempts for 33.9 percent and only five of 17 from long range for 29.4 percent.
The Lady Mocs were even worse as they sank just 14 of 54 field goals for 25.9 percent and only four of 20 from long range for 20 percent.
Ali Meyer’s layup gave Northern Colorado an early 2-0 lead, but Chattanooga had the lead at 15-12 when the quarter ended after Bria Dial converted a layup with 17 seconds left.
There were seven lead changes in the first 10 minutes alone.
Bouldin, who led Chattanooga with 16 points, canned a 3 with 6:09 left in the second to knot the score at 18-18 before the Lady Bears scored seven straight points for a 25-18 lead with 2:31 showing.
Pare Pene hit a 3 and Nakeia Burks converted a short jumper in the lane as the Lady Mocs cut it to 25-23 before a 3 from Alexis Chapman allowed the visitors to stretch their lead to 28-23 at intermission.
Bouldin converted a three-point play with 2:46 showing in the third to again knot the score at 33-33 before the Lady Bears finished the quarter on an 8-2 run for a 41-35 lead with one quarter remaining.
The Lady Mocs never got any closer as the visitors from Greeley, CO finished the game on a 16-5 run to win going away.
Kadie Deaton and Alisha Davis both scored 14 points to lead the winning Lady Bears while Micayla Isenbart finished with nine points and Chapman with eight.
Bouldin had 16 for Chattanooga while Burks was next with eight.
The Lady Bears finished with a 48-34 rebounding advantage as Alisha Davis claimed 11 for the winners. Bria Dial topped the Lady Mocs with seven.
Chattanooga returns to action on Sunday with a road game at Eastern Kentucky while Northern Colorado plays at the University of Denver next Wednesday in its next outing.
NORTHERN COLORADO 12 16 13 18 -- 59
CHATTANOOGA 15 8 12 7 -- 42
NORTHERN COLORADO (59) – Meyer 4, Hintz 6, Deaton 14, Gayles, Chapman 8, Davis 14, Isenbart 9, Harden 2, Kain 2, Whyte.
CHATTANOOGA (42) – Williams 2, Cornelius 5, Dial 5, Burks 8, Bouldin 16, Jarrells, Uwusiaba 1, Pene 5.
FIELD GOALS: Northern Colorado 20 of 59 for 33.9 percent; Chattanooga 14 of 54 for 25.9 percent.
3-POINT GOALS: Northern Colorado 5 of 17 for 29.4 percent (Deaton 0-2, Gayles 0-3, Chapman 2-8, Isenbart 3-4); Chattanooga 4 of 20 for 20 percent (Williams 0-3, Cornelius 0-2, Dial 0-5, Burks 0-2, Bouldin 3-4, Jarrells 0-1, Pene 1-3).
REBOUNDS: Northern Colorado 48 (Davis 11, Meyer 5, Hintz 5, Deaton 5); Chattanooga 34 (Dial 7, Cornelius 4, Burks 4).
ASSISTS: Northern Colorado 9 (Hintz 3, Deaton 2, Chapman 2); Chattanooga 5 (Cornelius 3).
TURNOVERS: Northern Colorado 14 (Deaton 6, Hintz 2, Davis 2); Chattanooga 12 (Jarrells 3, Cornelius 2, Dial 2, Burks 2).
STEALS: Northern Colorado 7 (Chapman, five with 1 each); Chattanooga 10 (Dial 3, Cornelius 2, Burks 2, Bouldin 2).
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)