The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team used a pair of 8-0 runs in the first quarter for a quick start in the Mocs 65-48 win over Wofford Saturday afternoon at the McKenzie Arena. Chattanooga improves to 16-7 overall and 7-2 in league play while the Terriers fall to 7-16 and 1-8 in Southern Conference action.
“What I liked about today, 65 is good for us and Jasmine [Joyner] not having a big game,” Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster said. “Jasmine has had big games when we scored like that today.
Other people have picked up the slack. They’re very physical with Jasmine.”
Joyner (Southaven, Miss.) had nine points and five rebounds in the game. She matched her school record for blocked shots for the third time with eight, leading the Mocs to a school-record 14 on the day while getting two steals and four assists with no turnovers.
Junior Queen Alford (Decatur, Ga.) led four Mocs in double figures with 18 points. She was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, the most she has made in her first year with the Mocs, and added four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Sophomores Keiana and Aryanna Gilbert (Pulaski, Tenn.) each contributed 13 points. Keiana had five steals in the contest to go along with seven rebounds. Aryanna was 5-of-7 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers. Off the bench, junior Sydney Vanlandingham (Hermitage, Tenn.) was the fourth player in double figures with 10 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes.
“Our bench is starting to play the way we like them to play,” Foster said. “You get on the floor because you work hard every day. When you start to understand that, good things start to happen, generally speaking.”
Wofford controlled the tip and Grayson Pinholster hit a layup for Wofford’s lone lead of the game. The Mocs responded with eight straight points with Keiana Gilbert, Joyner and Alford all getting shots for the lead for an 8-2 advantage with 7:31 to go in the first quarter.
After the Terriers cut the lead to 10-5, Chattanooga went on its second 8-0 run, fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from Vanlandingham to put UTC up 18-5 with 3:05 to go in the opening frame. The Mocs would have a 20-9 lead in the first half and maintain their double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Aryanna Gilbert drained her second 3-pointer with 3:39 to play, sparking a 7-0 run that would give UTC its largest lead of the game, 65-47, with 2:25 to play.
After shooting 63.3 percent (7-11) in the opening quarter, the Mocs closed out the game making 25-of-58 (43.1%) for the game and was 8-of-15 from beyond the arc, the most 3-pointers in a game for UTC this season.
The Mocs outscored Wofford 34-24 in the paint and 8-0 on fast breaks. Chattanooga converted 16 Terrier turnovers into 15 points and had six points on 11 offensive rebounds. Wofford’s bench edged the Mocs 13-10. Chattanooga outrebounded Wofford 37-31.
Wofford was led in scoring by Kentra Washington with a game-high-tying 18 points, making 8-of-11 from the free throw line. She had six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Pinholster was second on the team in scoring with seven points and had a game-high seven boards.
Chattanooga will hit the road for its only trip in February, heading to UNCG for a Thursday night tangle. The game will be aired live on ESPN3 and is a “Play for Kay” game. Larry Ward will have the call on 98.1 FM The Lake and live stats will be available at GoMocs.com.