The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team fell 78-67 at Stetson Wednesday night at the Edmunds Center in non-conference action. UTC starts the season at 0-3 for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
Chattanooga outscored the Hatters 42-28 in the second half and didn’t allow a single field goal in the final frame. Seniors Keiana and Aryanna Gilbert combined for 36 of the Mocs 68 points and 12 rebounds. The pair was 7-of-11 from the 3-point line and scored 19 points in the fourth quarter.
Keiana Gilbert scored 19 of her team-high 24 points in the second half and Aryanna Gilbert had 10 points and five rebounds in the fourth quarter, closing out the game with 12 points, a team-high eight rebounds and four assists.
Keiana Gilbert was a career-high 5-of-6 from the 3-point line.
After trailing Stetson 50-25 at the half, the two teams played even in the third quarter with Stetson carrying a 68-43 heading into the final period.
Bria Dial put back an offensive rebound to start Chattanooga’s scoring in the final frame and Aryanna Gilbert’s 3-pointer capped off a 6-1 scoring advantage for the Mocs, cutting the lead to 69-49. The Gilberts combined for the next four points to make it 70-53 with 3:52 to play.
Stetson connected on a pair of free throws to get back up to a 19-point lead, but the Mocs responded with the Gilberts combining for a 9-0 run to make it a 10-point game with 41 seconds to play.
Stetson made all six free throws in the finals seconds, outscoring UTC 6-5 to close out the game.
The Hatters shot 90.9 percent in the first quarter, making 10-of-11 from the field, missing just one 3-pointer, to grab a 30-8 lead to start the game. Brittney Chambers led all scorers with 26 points but was held to just one free throw in the fourth quarter.
Dial was 3-of-4 for the Mocs and connected on both free throw attempts for eight points and three rebounds with two on the offensive end. Molly Melton, while not scoring, took five charges on the night, dished out five assists and had four steals and no turnovers.
Lakelyn Bouldin chipped in six points and two steals and Rochelle Lee was 3-of-5 from the field for six points.
Stetson placed four in double figures led by Chambers’ 26. McKenna Beach added 16, making 3-of-5 from the 3-point line, Kennedi Colclough had 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds with four assists and three steals. Sydney Wagner was the fourth Hatter in double figures with 12 points.
Chattanooga was 21-of-57 (36.8%) from the field and made 9-of-24 (37.5%) from the 3-point line. The Mocs made 15 straight free throws in the game and ended with 16-of-18 (88.9%) for the night.
Stetson was 25-of-42 (59.5%) from the floor and 6-of-11 (54.5%) from the 3-point line while connecting on 22-of-27 free throws. The Hatters outrebounded the Mocs 30-27 and outscored Chattanooga 34-16 in the paint.
UTC had 21 points off 18 Stetson miscues and gave up 11 points on 12 turnovers. The Mocs had 12 second chance points on 10 offensive rebounds while Stetson had just three on three offensive boards. The Mocs bench outscored Stetson’s 21-6 and the Hatter’s led by as much as 26 points.
Chattanooga returns home to host Presbyterian Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. at the McKenzie Arena. Larry Ward will have the call live on 96.1 FM. Follow the action at GoMocs.com.