The Chattanooga women’s basketball team fell 90-51 Sunday afternoon to Troy in the Mocs’ first home game at the McKenzie Arena this month.
UTC got off to a good start with back-to-back 3-pointers from Bria Dial and Lakelyn Bouldin to take a 6-0 lead while Troy was 0-4 in the opening minutes with a pair of turnovers. The Mocs held onto the lead for more than six minutes with scoring from Dial and sophomore Eboni Williams.
However, the Trojans struck back with a 9-1 run to close out the period and led 16-12 at the end of the first.
“We didn’t play a stellar first half,” Chattanooga head coach Katie Burrows said.
“But we did a lot of good things. Certainly, much better than that third quarter.”
Late in the second, the Mocs made it a game with NaKeia Burks hitting back-to-back shots to get Chattanooga to within a point, 23-22, with 2:42 to play until halftime. Dial tied it up 25-all on a trio of free throws with 1:45 on the clock and Troy led 31-26 at intermission.
“We did a pretty decent job in the first half,” Burrows said. “We outrebounded them in the first half. We said the keys to this were going to be to stop them in transition and don’t give them multiple opportunities each possession. One and done. We held them to seven offensive rebounds in the first half. They more than tripled that in the second.”
Williams made a play to start the third to get Chattanooga to within three points, 31-28, but that’s the closest it would be the rest of the way. Troy scored the next 11 points and outscored UTC 34-10 in the frame. The Trojans shot 68.2 percent in the period and made 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Chattanooga was 15-of-60 for the game and had six from distance while making a season-best 15 free throws. Troy was 34-of-80 and made nine 3-pointers.
Bria Dial led UTC with 12 points and Eboni Williams had a game-high 12 rebounds with seven points. Dena Jarrells came off the bench to contribute 11 points and was 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Lakelyn Bouldin added eight points and junior Liz Wood hit a 3-pointer from the corner that got her bench to its feet. When Troy was called for a technical late in the game, Wood toed the line to sink both free throws.
“I was really proud of Liz,” Burrows said. “She finally hit a three, that what she does best. She stepped up in a tough situation and knocked down those free throws. Very proud of her and her effort.”
Kayla Robinson led five Trojans in double figures with a game-high 15 points. Amber Rivers had 14, making 4-of-6 from long range. Jasmine Robinson and Alexus Dye each had 11 points with Dye grabbing a team-best eight rebounds and Japonica James was the fifth player in double digits with 10 points.
Chattanooga falls to 1-11 overall and Troy improves to 7-2. The Mocs will hit the road to face ninth-ranked N.C. State Thursday at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. Burrows will face her mentor Wes Moore for the second straight year. The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. and be aired live on the ACC Network. Check local listings to watch the game.