JOYNER’S DOUBLE-DOUBLE POWERS MOCS TO WIN OVER FURMAN

(GOMOCS.COM) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Jasmine Joyner (Southaven, Miss.) recorded her fourth double-double of the year to lead the Mocs to a 56-50 win over Furman Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference action. The win was UTC’s 50^th consecutive league victory.

Chattanooga improves to 11-5 overall and 2-0 in league play while the Paladins fall to 8-9 on the year and 1-1 against the SoCon.

Joyner scored a game-high 21 points and matched her career-high for rebounds with 20 boards. She had career-best five assists and added six blocked shots to her school record. She was 7-of-13 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.

"Jas re-established herself on the low block,” Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster said. “She had been drifting away and falling in love a little bit too much with perimeter shots.  We made a point of getting her back on the block in the second half.

"She can shoot the three, and when we reverse the ball and people don’t guard her, that is a good time for her to take one. She is not a catch-and-shoot three-point shooter. She is a – ‘you’re not guarding me, OK I am going to take the shot’ – three-point shooter.  

"We have played a lot of bigger teams and she had just gotten in the habit of moving away. We just made some calls to have her on the block, made her stay on the block and got the ball down there. She was obviously very effective.”

Sophomore Keiana Gilbert (Pulaski, Tenn.) and junior Queen Alford (Decatur, Ga.) added 10 points apiece with six and five rebounds respecitively.

Senior Alicia Payne (Memphis, Tenn.) dropped in a 3-pointer to start the game and Joyner capped off a 16-5 run over the first 5:11 of the game. Furman, however, would outscore UTC 18-10 over the next 13:09 and the Mocs would carry a slim 26-23 margin into the half.

In the fourth quarter, Joyner scored five points in the Mocs’ 9-2 to start the period and gave Chattanooga its largest lead at 48-37 with 5:50 to play. Furman’s Holli Wilkins kept it close, scoring 10 of her team-high 20 points in the final 4:46 of the game to keep the Paladins in the running.

Joyner hit a layup to start the fourth, but Furman responded with a layup to stay within four, 41-37. Junior Moses Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) drained a 3-pointer from the right side to put the Mocs out front 44-37 and Joyner added in an old-fashioned 3-point play to put UTC up by 11 with more than half the frame to play.

Wilkins, daughter of former UTC player Gerald Wilkins, connected on a pair of free throws and a layup to cut Chattanooga’s lead to 48-41. Joyner, fouled on a layup, made her free throw to get the Mocs back up by double figures, 51-41 with 3:44 to go.

After scores from Kelsey Ellis and Whitney Bunn, Wilkins drained a trey from the top of the key to make it a four-point game once again at 51-47 with 1:38 on the clock.

"Defensively, I thought we were there all night,” Foster said. “We had to make an adjustment in how we were guarding something late that allowed them to get that three. We made that adjustment in a time out, but I thought our defensive effort was terrific.  I thought our patience on offense was very good."

Wilkins added another 3-pointer in the final 98 seconds, but Alford made three of her four free throws and sophomore Aryanna Gilbert (Pulaski, Tenn.) cut to the basket for a layup and the Mocs got the win, making it nine straight against the Paladins.

The Mocs were 21-of-52 (40.4%) for the game and outrebounded the Paladins 38-34. Chattanooga was 11-of-14 from the charity stripe and edged Furman in the paint 24-22 but dominated second chance points 15-2 with 11 offensive rebounds.

The Paladins were 19-of-55 (34.5%) from the field and 5-of-14 from beyond the arc. Wilkins was 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the 3-point line and led her team with 20 points. Whitney Bunn was the only other Furman player in double figures with 12 points. Cierra Carter had a team-best seven free rebounds and three blocked shots.

Chattanooga returns to the Roundhouse to host Western Carolina on Wednesday, January 13 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the McKenzie Arena box office and online at GoMocs.com.