Mocs women fall at home on senior night
GoMocsChattanooga women’s basketball suffered its first loss in 13 games on Saturday, with the Mocs falling victim to UNC Greensboro after a late surge from the Spartans gave them a 68-64 victory.
The Mocs (23-4, 11-1 SoCon) saw themselves up by as much as 12 points on the Spartans (18-10, 7-6 SoCon) at one point during the game, but a high-scoring fourth quarter by UNCG helped hand the Mocs their first SoCon loss of the season in the team’s final home game of the year.
Things were dicey for the Mocs early-on, with UNC Greensboro jumping out to a 9-5 lead through the opening five minutes. Chattanooga was able to get the train back on the rails in a hurry, though, with UTC going on a 9-2 scoring run to end the quarter with a 14-11 lead on UNCG.
The Spartans were able to hang around for a solid chunk of the second quarter, with UNCG cutting the lead down to as little as three. However a big-time Addie Grace Porter three-pointer for the Mocs helped the team build that lead right back up, as UTC took a 33-25 advantage into the halftime break.
Starting to get into a groove, the Mocs put together a strong third quarter that primarily rested on the offensive prowess of Jada Guinn. Down to just 31 seconds left in the frame, Chattanooga had built up their largest lead of the day, leading the Spartans 46-34. While UNCG was able to connect on one last three-pointer before the end of the quarter, the Mocs still held onto a nine-point lead headed into the fourth.
That lead would quickly disappear as things got under way in the fourth, with the Spartans ripping off a rapid 9-1 run to trail 47-43. UNCG didn’t relent, finally retaking the lead from the Mocs at the 6:49 mark of the final quarter. While the Mocs were able to hang around with the Spartans, time was draining off of the clock and UNCG continued to remain a possession or two ahead of UTC.
Some late shots falling by the Mocs and missed free throws by the Spartans gave Chattanooga a last gasp, but it was too little too late for UTC as foul trouble would catch up with the squad. Finding three of the team’s starters out with five fouls, the Mocs could do nothing but watch as the clock hit zero with the final score reading 68-64 in favor of the Spartans.
Jada Guinn ended her day with a 26-point, eight-rebound performance for the Mocs, both team-highs. This marks her 10th game scoring 20+ points this season, as well as her fourth game with 25+ on the year. Raven Thompson also ended her day in double-digits, scoring 11.
