UTC Women Drill Samford 53-30 Despite Zero Points From Star Center Jasmine Joyner

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Queen Alford led the Mocs to a 53-30 win over Samford Wednesday night in Southern Conference women’s basketball action at the McKenzie Arena.

Chattanooga improves to 19-7 overall and 10-2 in league play while the Bulldogs fall to 16-10 on the year and 8-3 against the SoCon. The Mocs SoCon home-court win streak now stands at 41 games.

“I think we did a good job defensively, whether we were in man or zone,” Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster said. “I think we had a sense of urgency at the 3-point line. We were in good position to help and we just played defense at eye-level for 40 minutes.”

Alford scored the Mocs first 11 points of the game making all three of her attempts that included a pair from beyond the arc and made all three of her free throws in the first eight minutes of the game. She was 6-of-13 on the night for 18 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.

Sophomore Keiana Gilbert was 5-of-9 and recorded her first double-double this season with 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. It was the third of her career. Senior Alicia Payne added nine points and sophomore Aryanna Gilbert was 3-of-5 for eight points.

Alford hit a 3-pointer to start the game, but the Bulldogs responded with the next six points. The Mocs responded with a 10-0 run that included an eight-point streak by Alford and capped off with a layup from Payne to make it 13-6. Samford went 2-of-4 on free throws in the final 38 seconds of the first quarter and closed the gap to 13-8, the closest it would get the rest of the way.

“I thought we were a little tentative at first when people weren’t looking at the basket like we should have,” Foster said. “I think Queen sort of helped us get comfortable and when she got comfortable, the whole team realized that there were opportunities that they needed to take advantage of.”

Chattanooga held the Bulldogs to just five points in the second quarter and 4-of-18 (22.9%) for the half for a 27-13 lead at the break.

Keiana and Aryanna Gilbert started the second half combining for a 7-1 run against the Bulldogs to push the Mocs’ lead to 20 points, 34-14, with 5:37 to go in the frame. Alford recorded the next four points for the Mocs, junior Moses Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) drained a 3-pointer and junior Sydney Vanlandingham closed out the scoring for the Mocs in the quarter to give UTC a 43-20 lead after 30 minutes.

Junior Jasmine Joyner did not score due to foul trouble, but she had three blocked shots and two assists in just 14 minutes. Joyner got into foul trouble early in the game and then picked up two more in less than two minutes into the third quarter. She picked up her fifth with 4:19 to play.

“We couldn’t focus on Jasmine being out,” Keiana Gilbert said. “We had to keep focusing on getting stops on defense and having energy.”

“[Sydney] did a great job on the boards,” Foster said. “She did a great job of taking care of the basketball with six boards, three assists and zero turnovers. I think that they are areas of strength for her and she sort of let the game come to her.

“She picked up some quick fouls in the first half and I think she would have been on the floor longer. I thought Aryanna Gilbert at the center position did a great job defensively and getting in position.”

Foster cleared the bench in the fourth quarter with all 12 players seeing action in the contest. The Mocs outscored Samford 26-16 in the paint and scored six points off nine offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs edged the Mocs 10-9 off turnovers, forcing UTC into 12 and had a 13-7 advantage on bench points.

Brittany Stevens and Ellen Riggins each chipped in a team-high six points for the Bulldogs. Riggings, along with Krista Stricklin, had a team-best five rebounds.

The Mocs shot 20-of-49 (40.8%) on the night and were 5-of-11 from the 3-point line. Samford was 11-of-45 (24.4%) on the night and made just 2-of-15 from beyond the arc. Chattanooga outrebounded the Bulldogs 39-29.

30 points ties for the fewest points allowed in a game this year by a Southern Conference team, matching Samford’s 54-30 win at Alabama A&M on December 1. It is the fewest points allowed in a Southern Conference game this year, besting the Bulldgos 58-39 win at Wofford on January 30. It is the fewest points allowed by the Mocs since beating Vanderbilt 88-23 on January 19, 1977.

Chattanooga returns to action Saturday at 2 p.m. in a rematch with Mercer. The Bears snapped the Mocs’ 52-game SoCon win streak with a 67-44 win over UTC in Macon. Chattanooga sits behind Mercer (9-1) by percentage points in the league standings.