UTC Women Get Key Road Win Over Mercer 64-61

(gomocs.com) MACON, Ga. — Addie Grace Porter grabbed her team-high seventh rebound Thursday night at Mercer and drew a foul with less than a second on the clock to lead Chattanooga to a 64-61 victory and earn the season sweep over the Bears for Mocs the first time since 2017.

Porter led UTC with 19 points and was one of three Chattanooga players in double digits. Raven Thompson put up 14 points with a career-best two 3-pointers in the game and Yazz Wazeerud-Din chipped in 11. The trio accounted for all six of the Mocs shots from long range with each sinking two.

Trailing 45-43 headed into the final quarter, the Mocs and Bears traded the lead five times and had five ties before the Mocs went ahead for good with 51 seconds to play.

Karsen Murphy started the fourth with a scoop and score, drawing the foul to put the Mocs up 46-45. Mercer didn’t wait long to retake the lead, but it would bounce back-and-forth over the next seven minutes before the Mocs took charge.

Trailing 54-52 with 4:46 to play, Thompson drained her second 3-pointer of the game, sparking a 7-0 run to give Chattanooga it’s largest lead of the game, 59-54 with 2:21 remaining.

Mercer struck back with the next five points to tie the game as Erin Houpt connected on her first 3-pointer of the night and Amoria Neal-Tysor, battling injury, got around the Mocs defense for a driving layup.

Tied 59-59 with 1:10 to play, Sigrun Olafsdottir took a pass from Abbey Cornelius for a layup, giving UTC a 61-59 advantage and the Mocs would not trail again.

Porter pushed the lead to 63-59 with a pair of free throws, but Neal-Tysor responded with a pair of her own, pulling the Bears back to within two with 16 seconds remaining.

After advancing the ball, the Mocs had a chance to stretch the lead, but missed a pair of free throws with 13.3 seconds on the clock. Mercer grabbed the rebound and called for time, advancing the ball and drawing up a play.

Neal-Tysor’s shot missed. Porter grabbed the rebound and ran with the ball, trying to run the clock out. However, she was fouled and went to the line with 0.7 seconds to play. She made the second of her two shots and Mercer’s last-ditch effort, a near-full court shot, was well short and Chattanooga came away with the victory.

Chattanooga shot 66.7 percent (6-9) from the field in the fourth quarter making both 3-point attempts and was 7-of-11 from the line. UTC shot 53.3 percent for the game and made six from range while sinking 10-of-14 from the charity stripe.

Chattanooga improves to 14-10 overall and 6-3 against the Southern Conference, moving ahead of Mercer for third in the standings. The Bears drop to 10-13 on the year and 6-4 in league play.

Jaron Dougherty led all scorers with 20 points and eight rebounds. Enjulina Gonzalez who gave the Mocs fits in the first meeting put up 16 points, making 8-of-11 from the floor. Neal-Tysor scored 14 off the bench and the trip accounted for 50 of the Bears’ 61 points.

FROM THE HEAD COACH

On Karsen Murphy’s contribution

“Our starters all played very well, but the X factor tonight was Karsen Murphy. She came in a did a really job on the defensive end. In her 12 minutes, we were +10 which I believe played a huge part in us coming out on top.”

TOP TAKEAWAYS

– Chattanooga swept the regular season series with the Bears for the first time since 2017.

– The Mocs shot 66.7 percent in the fourth quarter and 53.5 percent for the game. When shooting 50 percent or better, UTC is 3-0.

– Chattanooga was 7-of-11 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter … was just 3-of-3 the rest of the game.