UTC Women Beat Mercer to Move Back Into Sole Possession of First in the Southern Conference

(gomocs.com) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team ran past Mercer 70-50 Thursday night at the McKenzie Arena in Southern Conference action to retake the conference lead.

Chattanooga improves to 13-9 overall and 7-1 in conference play while the Bears drop to 17-5 on the year and 6-2 against the SoCon.

Senior Jasmine Joyner posted her third straight double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. She was 6-of-7 from the field and made both free throws while playing all 40 minutes. She led four players in double figures for UTC.

Junior Chelsey Shumpert had a game-high 18 points, with six rebounds, four assists and just one turnover. She hit a career-high nine free throws in the win. Freshman Lakelyn Bouldin hit three from beyond the arc and all five of her free throws for 14 points while junior Keiana Gilbert, who was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, chipped in 10 points.

The Mocs used a balanced attack in the second quarter and went 9-of-15 in the frame, outscoring Mercer 26-10, to take a 20-point halftime lead.

UTC started the period on an 11-0 run to take a 27-12 lead at the 6:23 mark. Mercer responded with eight straight points to cut Chattanooga’s lead to 27-20, but the Mocs would push back and reestablish the double-digit lead, outscoring the Bears 15-2 over the final 3:45 for the 20-point halftime time advantage.

Mercer came out of the break and shot 50 percent in the third quarter, making 7-of-14. They held the Mocs to just 36.4 percent for the period, outscoring UTC 18-10. Chattanooga responded with its own 18-10 fourth quarter performance for the 20-point victory.

The Mocs got on the board first with a pair of free throws from Shumpert and would never trail. UTC led by as much as 23 points at the start of the third quarter on a 3-point play from Shumpert.

In the paint, the two teams were even with 32 points apiece. Mercer scored 16 points off 14 Mocs’ miscues while Chattanooga was able to convert eight Mercer turnovers into seven points. The Bears had 16 second chance points and scored six points on fast breaks.

The Mercer bench outscored UTC 24-9 led by Rachel Selph’s 13 points and team-best five rebounds. Kahlia Lawrence was 7-of-22 on the night for a team-high 17 points and five steals. Kayla Potts added eight points and four rebounds off the bench. Sydni Means had a scorching eight assists.

The Mocs were 22-of-48 (45.8%) for the game and 22-of-25 (88%) from the free throw line. The last time UTC made 22 free throws in a game was against Appalachian State (22-27) in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament in 2013.

The Mocs remain home to take on Samford Saturday afternoon at the Roundhouse. Chattanooga is 19-7 all-time against the Bulldogs, including a 77-61 win in Birmingham earlier this year. Samford is 9-15 overall and 2-6 against the SoCon with a loss at ETSU earlier Thursday.