UTC clinches top women’s seed
Everything came together in a major way Saturday.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team had a complete performance in the final home game for four seniors, defeating Wofford 76-56 at McKenzie Arena.
Sealing the top seed in the Southern Conference tournament this week, the Mocs (18-10, 12-2) will face Western Carolina (8-21) in the first round at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in Asheville, N.C.
The win is the 100th with UTC for coach Jim Foster, who has won 80 percent of his games since arriving in Chattanooga prior to the 2013-14 season.
The Mocs needed a late run to defeat Wofford in their first meeting this season, outscoring the Terriers 19-11 in the fourth quarter. That wasn’t the case Saturday.
“Towards the end of the season, we started talking more on defense,” senior Jasmine Joyner said. “If something happens, we talk about it after the possession. We got better at talking, got better at having more leaders come on the floor — the stars or the bench, we have a lot of energy — and all the things we didn’t do the first time around we definitely did today.”
Moses Johnson and Joyner are the two four-year UTC seniors, and they finished their home careers with a 48-6 record, including a 30-0 mark against SoCon competition. Sydney Vanlandingham spent three seasons with the team after transferring from UT-Martin, while Queen Alford played two years after a transfer from Jacksonville University.
Johnson said the team blocked out the senior day stuff and just played its game.
“I was more worried about taking care of business today,” she said. “We were focused on this game and preparing for the next game. I think the whole team is tuned in, trying to get the season complete and accomplishing every goal every day.”
Joyner had team highs in scoring (19), rebounding (14), assists (four) and steals (two). Lakelyn Bouldin scored all 11 of her points in the second half, with 3-for-6 3-point shooting, while Chelsey Shumpert had 10 points.
Everybody contributed in the win. The seniors combined for 37 points, with each contributing a key moment. For Alford, it was a big 3-pointer from the wing that was part of her seven-point performance. Johnson had a number of hustle plays on defense and chipped in eight points. Vanlandingham had a big steal before the first-half buzzer, then nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the final period of play.
The Mocs really pulled away in the second and third quarters, using big runs. Leading 16-12 after a quarter, they received a pair of Shelbie Davenport 3-pointers to help build a 34-26 lead at the half, then used a 10-2 third-quarter spurt to build a double-digit lead and cruised the rest of the way.
“It’s a big deal when everybody does their job,” Johnson said. “We have a lot of different components, so when everybody does their job, it flows better and makes us function as one.”
The Mocs had 16 assists — their most in a conference game — and only five turnovers, a season low.
“That happens when players’ heads are up,” Foster said. “They’ve worked pretty diligently on having their heads up; when their heads are up, they make good decisions.”
Maria Corella led Wofford (13-16, 3-11) with 17 points. Chloe Wanink had 16.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley @timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.