Mocs women top ETSU in triple overtime marathon

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (UTC Athletics) — Chattanooga took an extra 15 minutes on the court Saturday afternoon to come away with a 91-82 triple overtime victory over East Tennessee State in Brooks Gym. The Mocs (5-16) used a 9-0 run in the final five minutes to get the win and improve to 4-3 in Southern Conference play.

“What a battle from both teams who are hungry for wins,” Chattanooga head coach Katie Burrows said. “That was very evident out there, it was a very physical game. We figured that out early on that it was going to be physical.”

Chattanooga seemed in control in the third quarter, building its lead to 45-32 on a 3-pointer from Eboni Williams with 6:36 to play. However, ETSU answered with a 7-0 run and cut that lead to 47-43 by the end of the period.

The Bucs entered the final frame in regulation with momentum and never let Chattanooga’s lead grow by more than six points. Abbey Cornelius gave the Mocs a 58-53 lead on a pair of free throws with 2:53 on the clock in the fourth.

Chattanooga got a stop on the other end with an Eboni Williams block, but could not capitalize on their end and ETSU’s Kaia Upton drew a foul on a layup. She sank her two free throws, starting a 6-1 run by the Bucs to close out regulation. E’Lease Stafford made a pair of free throws, pulling ETSU within a point, 58-57, with 18 seconds on the clock.

The Mocs’ NaKeia Burks made the second of her two free throws to put Chattanooga back up by two, but a layup by Stafford in the final seconds knotted it up again with 14 seconds on the clock.

A layup attempt by the Mocs fell short and the game headed to overtime for the first time this season for Chattanooga.

In the first overtime, the lead changed five times and there were three ties. Williams made both free throws with 22 seconds in the period and the two teams headed to a second overtime tied up at 68-68.

In the second OT, Cornelius made a pair of free throws to put the Mocs up top 77-73 at exactly the midpoint of the frame, but again it would be free throws that sent the game into another overtime with ETSU’s Micah Scheetz connecting on hers with 51 seconds in the period to make it 78-78.

Chattanooga forced a turnover on an ETSU offensive foul and missed two jumpers resulting in a third overtime, the first for UTC in more than 21 years and just the third in school history.

The final five minutes would belong to UTC.

After ETSU starting the scoring in the opening seconds of the last overtime period, the Mocs went on a 9-0 run and held on for the win. Williams started it off with a layup in front of the basket. Chattanooga forced a turnover on the other end and Cornelius made her layup to make it 82-80 with 3:49 to play.

After a missed layup by the Bucs, Cornelius drew a foul on her next put in and made the associated free throw to put UTC up 85-80 with 3:26 remaining.

ETSU had two chances but couldn’t get the ball to drop. Lakelyn Bouldin turned Williams 15th rebound into points and Chattanooga enjoyed its largest lead since the third quarter, 87-80.

Chattanooga allowed the Bucs just two more points while scoring four to get its fourth win in conference play.

“The good thing for us is that we were able to stay disciplined with people in foul trouble,” Burrows said. “We had Bria [Dial] and NaKeia [Burks] both in foul trouble; Bria had four fouls going into the fourth quarter.”

Both teams had four players in double figures. Williams led all scorers with a season-high 25 points and recorded her third double-double of the year with a career-high 16 rebounds. She scored 13 points in the three overtime periods including a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line in extra time.

Bria Dial had 21 points, topping the 20-point mark for the third time this season, and was 3-of-9 from the 3-point line. Cornelius had her second double-double with 18 points and a career-best 13 rebounds. She added in three assists and three blocked shots.

Bouldin was the fourth Chattanooga player to score in double figures. Her 13 points moved her past Kayla Christopher (2009-13) on the Mocs’ all-time list for 14th with 1,341 career points. She added seven rebounds and had two assists.

Scheetz led the Bucs with 20 points and a game-high seven assists. Shynia Jackson had 19 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Upton and Stafford each added 16 points and combined for five rebounds. Upton dished out six assists and had five steals.

The Mocs had 19 turnovers in the game, but only two came in the final 15 minutes. ETSU was able to capitalize on the Mocs’ miscues scoring 24 points while UTC scored nine on 14 ETSU errors.

Chattanooga was 32-of-78 (41%) from the field and made just 6-of-24 from the 3-point line while ETSU was 34-of-76 (44.7%) from the floor with 5-of-16 from range. The difference would be free throws. The Mocs were 21-of-26 for the game and made 12-of-14 of those in overtime. ETSU was 9-of-14 and only made three on five tries in overtime.

The Mocs will return home next week to host UNCG Thursday night at McKenzie Arena and then Western Carolina on Saturday. Tickets are on sale now at the McKenzie Arena box office or online at GoMocs.com.