UTC Women Can’t Overcome Large Halftime Deficit in Falling to Belmont 88-70
(gomocs.com)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team rallied in the second half but couldn’t get past Belmont, falling 88-70 in the season-opener for both teams Tuesday night at the McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs (0-1) had a pair of 7-2 runs in the third quarter and spanned the third and fourth with an 11-0 run in 3:07 to get to within six points at 68-62 with 8:52 remaining in the game. Chattanooga was 4-of-4 in the latter span with a steal and just one turnover while the Bruins (1-0) missed all six chances.
“We came out aggressive and won the third quarter,” Chattanooga head coach Katie Burrows said on the radio after the game. “It was in the fourth quarter with about six minutes left when the dagger kind of hit. Belmont hit a couple threes and got their stroke back and we can’t allow that.”
Abbey Cornelius just missed a double-double with a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds and added three assists. She was joined in double digits by Brooke Hampel who matched her with 16 points and Sigrun Olafsdottir with 11. Hampel added six boards, four on the offensive end and Leah Jones had seven points and five rebounds. Dena Jarrells was just shy of her own double-double with nine points and eight assists.
Chattanooga got a late start, getting behind 30-13 in the opening frame. Belmont shot 61.1 percent (11-18) in the first led by Madison Bartley’s 10 points in the period. She finished with a game-high 21.
“When I look at the stats early on and we have two assists and seven turnovers, they were on the flip side of that,” Burrows said. “Belmont was sharing the ball and we were not. That was part of it, they came out firing and were knocking down shots. We allowed their aggressive defense to get in our heads.”
The second quarter was a bit more evenly matched between the teams with the Bruins edging UTC 23-21. The Mocs were 9-of-19 in the period led by Olafsdottir’s seven points and Leah Jones six.
Chattanooga got the Bruins back on their heels in the third, outscoring them 22-15. The Mocs shot a scorching 77.8 percent from the field, making 7-of-9. Hampel and Cornelius combined for 15 of the Mocs’ points. Belmont shot just 35 percent in the period and had four miscues.
“We came out aggressive and won the third quarter,” said Burrows. “It was in the fourth quarter with about six minutes left is when the dagger kind of hit. Belmont hit a couple threes and got their stroke back and we can’t allow that.”
After nearly losing its lead, Belmont
Belmont edged UTC 36-34 on the boards but UTC had 14 points on 13 offensive rebounds while Belmont had 10 on 15. The Bruins capitalized on 15 Chattanooga turnovers with 24 points while UTC scored 11 on 10 Belmont miscues.
Destinee Wells joined Bartley with 20 points and had eight assists. Conley Chinn and Tuti Jones each added 10 points.
Chattanooga will hit the road for a pair on in-state contests beginning with Tennessee Tech in Cookeville on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.
