Penn Beats UTC 74-61 in Holiday Tournament in Fort Myers

(gomocs.com) FORT MYERS, Fla. — Chattanooga women’s basketball dropped the team’s opening round matchup of the 2024 FGCU Homewood Suites Tournament on Friday, with UTC falling 74-61 to Penn University in Alico Arena.

Foul trouble proved too much to overcome for the Mocs, as the Quakers were able to win the game from the charity stripe by knocking down 21 of their 27 free throw attempts on their way to the win. Not even a career-high 17 points from Takia Davis could help the Mocs pull out the result in the end.

“One of the things we’ve been trying to hone in on this team is discipline,” head coach Deandra Schirmer said. “We’ve got to be disciplined in our play. We can talk about the officials all we want, but the fact of the matter is, we’re swiping down on somebody we know is not about to make the layup.

“They’re leading scorer [Stina Almquist], she shot 14 free throws. That’s just undisciplined on our nature and I feel like this was the first team that really made us pay for that. It’s been a constant theme this whole season of being about to defend without fouling. I think this is a tough lesson for our group to learn, but a lesson that we need to learn nonetheless.”

UTC’s defense came out ready to play to open the day, clamping up Penn’s offense over the opening 10 minutes of the game. The Quakers struggled to find the bottom of the basket, shooting just 18.8 percent (3-for-16) from the floor and 10 percent (1-for-10) from three-point range in the opening frame. This, paired with a strong start by Chattanooga’s offense, saw the Mocs holding an edge over Penn.

However, the first quarter and half were plagued by UTC foul trouble, with three Mocs ending the first half with multiple fouls. These fouls led to Quaker free throws, keeping Penn in the game long enough to get their offense going.

While the Mocs ended the first quarter up 14-13, Penn remained in the game and eventually retook the lead over UTC heading into the locker room. The Quakers carried a 29-26 advantage into the halftime break, having scored 11 of their points from the charity stripe compared to Chattanooga’s four.

The Quakers came out swinging to open the third quarter, and the hot start to the period by Penn alongside further foul trouble by the Mocs saw the Quakers keep control of the game. However, it was the play of Takia Davis that would help keep UTC in the game, with the senior playing bully ball in the paint enroute to finishing her day with a career-high 17 points.

While Penn only led 48-44 to start the fourth quarter, that lead would quickly grow to double-digits as the Mocs found no response to an air-tight Penn defense that shut down Chattanooga’s attack.

As the baskets continued to fall, the Mocs couldn’t close the gap as the game would close out with the Quakers taking a 74-61 win to open the FGCU Homewood Suites Tournament.

Davis’ 17 points paced the Mocs, and she stood as the only UTC player to finish as a double-digit scorer. Karsen Murphy and Kailyn Farrel finish tied for second in scoring, with each scoring eight points. Farrell also notched her first-ever start for the Mocs in the game, marking her first start at the Division I level in her career.

Murphy and Brooke Anya would each bring down six boards, tying for the team-high in that stat, while Caia Elisaldez’s four assists led the team.