Turnover trouble costs UTC women
When the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team tipped off its season Sunday, it was an overwhelming third- quarter performance by the University of Alabama at Birmingham that proved too much for the Mocs on their way to a 20-point loss in the opener at McKenzie Arena.
Wednesday afternoon at Troy, UTC’s breakdown happened one quarter sooner, leading to a 20-0 run by the Trojans that allowed them to break what had been a tie game wide open. After that, UTC didn’t lose much ground but also didn’t make up much on the way to a 95-74 loss to the Sun Belt Conference favorites in Troy, Alabama.
Now 0-2, the Mocs are at home for their next two games: 3 p.m. Friday versus Tennessee Tech and 2 p.m. Sunday against Vanderbilt.
Junior guard Amaria Pugh led Mocs with 16 points and nine rebounds. Eboni Williams battled foul trouble for the second straight game yet still ended up with 10 points, same as Ruona Uwusiaba. But coach Katie Burrows’ team struggled at the line, making 23 of 41 free throws, and behind the arc, with the Mocs going 7- for-27 from 3-point range.
Senior forward Bria Dial, who scored a team- high 20 points in Sunday’s opener, was limited to six at Troy, though she did have eight rebounds and three steals.
Tiyah Johnson scored a game- high 19 points as one of four players in double figures for the Trojans (3-1), and Alexus Dye added 18 with 14 rebounds.
MOCS STAR
Pugh improved on her first game as a Moc, showing a variety of ways to score while also being able to match some of the athleticism thrown at her by the Trojans. The junior college transfer’s biggest problem Wednesday was also one for the Mocs as a team: free throws. Pugh was 4-for-11.
KEY STATS
The Mocs were overwhelmed in almost every hustle stat, but their own mistakes played just as much of a role in the defeat. UTC committed 20 turnovers, which led to 28 Troy points. And against a team that loves to pressure throughout, the easy baskets led to pressure that proved difficult for the Mocs to counter.
TURNING POINT
Missed 3. Turnover. Turnover. Missed 3. Two missed free throws. Missed shot. Missed layup. Missed layup. Missed 3. Turnover. Missed 3. Missed shot. Missed 3. Missed shot. Missed shot. Two missed free throws. Turnover. Turnover. Missed free throw. Those were the UTC possessions during Troy’s 20- 0 run that ended when Williams hit the second of two free throws, which made it 43-24 with 1: 31 to play in the second quarter and ended a drought that started after Dena Jarrells made a 3 for the Mocs seven seconds into the period.
QUOTABLE
“I can’t even begin to tell you how little we value the ball, and that has to be taken care of. It will be remedied in practice. We’ve got to take better care of the ball. It’s a want-to thing, just like rebounding is a want-to thing, and there’s a lot of little things we didn’t do today.” — Burrows on the Mocs’ 20 turnovers.
FINAL THOUGHT
The good thing about playing quality competition early in the season is that it hardens a team for similar challenges down the stretch. It also opens that team up to look bad along the way, though, and that’s especially true in a situation like the one Mocs are facing, having added new players and putting others in new roles as they prepare for Southern Conference competition in the new year. Williams has to stay out of foul trouble, and the Mocs must take better care of the ball.