NASHVILLE --- Chattanooga women's basketball brought in not only their eighth win in a row, but their 10th win of the season on Thursday night after UTC was able to take down Lipscomb 72-62 in Nashville.
A back-and-forth second half made things interesting for the Mocs (10-1, 0-0 SoCon), but team three-point shooting and resilience from the entire Chattanooga lineup helped guide UTC past the Bisons (6-4, 0-0 ASUN) to move to 10-1 on the year. With the win, this is now the Mocs' best start to a season in program history since they started 10-1 back in 1987-88.
"I'll tell you what, that was a gutsy win," head coach Shawn Poppie said. "First game, obviously, without Raven [Thompson]. We're playing totally different but we had kids step up all over the court, but not on both ends. Sigrun didn't have her best offensive game, but goodness sakes, on the other end she was phenomenal. I thought Caia [Elisadez], she had some early turnovers, but ultimately she played a really good game for us. Addie Grace Porter finally found her shot, which you could feel the last couple of days. She was getting in rhythm and shot with confidence. Jada Guinn down the stretch was phenomenal. It was a balanced effort. Karsen Murphy, early on, bangs in a couple of threes, she opens up the second half with one. Totally a team effort."
Early-on the Mocs were put to the test early by Lipscomb, as the Bisons attacked and defended the paint on both ends of the floor. It was here that UTC turned to three-point shooting, a theme that would stick the entire night, as Karsen Murphy broke through by sinking a early pair of triples to help give the Mocs the advantage.
The aggressive play of the Bisons would remove Murphy from the game not long after, however, with the junior forward collecting two fouls at the 5:36 mark of the opening quarter. With Murphy's hot hand on the bench, scoring became stagnant for both sides as the Mocs would take a 13-10 lead into quarter two.
Looking to light a fire under themselves, the Mocs were able to spark a scoring run right from the start of the second quarter with UTC going on a 13-2 run that would have Chattanooga up 23-12 with 7:18 to go in the frame. This run was managed largely by Addie Grace Porter, who took the three-point shooting reigns herself to hit on back-to-back threes for the Mocs to close out the run.
Even with the Mocs hitting from three-point range, the Bisons continued to remain in striking distance with the first half ending on a 6-0 Lipscomb scoring run. Heading into halftime, Chattanooga led 30-24 over the Bisons.
Multiple Mocs were able to get involved offensively over the course of the third quarter, including freshman Caia Elisaldez, who was making her first collegiate start for the Mocs in the game. However, the Bisons remained as a thorn in UTC's side, lingering and even closing the gap down to just one point as the third quarter buzzer sounded. With just 10 minutes to go in Allen Arena, the Mocs were now only leading 40-39.
Now rejuvenated with life, it didn't take long for the Bisons to retake the lead for the first time since 7:38 remained in the first quarter, with Lipscomb jumping ahead 41-40 with 9:23 left to play. For the next couple of minutes, things would remain just a one or two possession game as UTC carried a two-point lead into the final five minutes in Nashville.
Already coming up clutch for the Mocs a game ago against North Alabama, Elisaldez would connect on a crucial three-pointer for the team to build the Chattanooga lead up to five. From here the Mocs turned to the always reliable Jada Guinn to take them home, with Guinn scoring 10 of UTC's final 14 points from the floor and the charity stripe to help the Mocs climb back up to a double-digit advantage on the Bisons.
As time ticked down and eventually ran out, the Mocs were looking at a 72-62 victory, keeping the team's win streak alive.
Guinn nearly earned herself a second consecutive double-double for the team as she would finish with team-highs in points (24), rebounds (9) and assists (5). She wasn't the only contributor for UTC, as Porter added 12 points while Elisaldez notched a career-high 11 in her first ever start.
Murphy also finished just shy of a double-double for the Mocs, scoring nine points and bringing in eight boards alongside a team-high two blocks. What's even more impressive about Murphy's stat line was that she put up those numbers while only playing 12 minutes of action due to her getting into foul trouble.
FROM THE HEAD COACH | QUOTES
On the up and down flow of the game
"We've still got to learn. I don't know if we relax, we get tired. We build a 10-12 point lead and then we relax, or whatever it may be, and let them back in the game. But the good news is we have a final push. In the last couple [of games] we've had that final push."
"They matched small with us and we stayed small most of the game. I thought Takia Davis came in the first half and gave us some solid minutes, but again they stayed small. They thought that was the best way for them, so we stayed small with them."
On the play of Jada Guinn
"In the third, I don't know if she got tired, but when she should have drove she took a pull up, when she should have took a pull up, she drove. I told her in the fourth, you get a switch and we give you space, that's not a pull up time. That's down hill, move through the chest. I felt like they were calling it on that, so the more we can be aggressive here, maybe she gets to the free throw line and she did. She ended up 10-for-11 from the free throw line. And then she makes that nice little floater as she's aggressive. Big time plays by her, but ultimately a heck of a team win on the road, facing adversity. Facing a lot of uncertainty."
TOP TAKEAWAYS | NOTES
- This was the first time that Chattanooga and Lipscomb have played in women's basketball.
- This is now the best start to a season for the Mocs since 1987-88, when UTC also started the year 10-1 before going on to finish 19-9.
- The next best start to a season after that came in 1983-84, when Chattanooga started the year 13-1.
- Chattanooga has now won eight games in a row, the team's longest win streak since the team won 11 straight back in the 2015-16 season.
- Tied for the 11th-longest win streak in program history.
- UTC has now earned its tenth non-conference win of the 2023-24 season, the most non-conference wins in a single season since 2015-16 (12).
- The Mocs have led ten out of 11 games this season at halftime.
- This was the first time that UTC has deviated from their usual starting lineup on the year. Raven Thompson, who missed tonight's game due to injury, was replaced by freshman Caia Elisaldez who made her first collegiate start for UTC.
- This is the sixth double-digit win for the Mocs this season.
- Jada Guinn has scored 10+ points in every game this season for the Mocs.
- Guinn and Thompson have now accounted for 345 of Chattanooga's 739 total points on the year.
- UTC shot 43.1 percent (22-for-51) from the field. The Mocs have shot 40 percent or above from the floor in every game this season.
- The Mocs made a total of 12 three-pointers collectively on the night, a season-high for the team.
UP NEXT: EASTERN KENTUCKY
The Mocs will now return home for their final home contest of 2023 with UTC set to host the dangerous Eastern Kentucky Colonels (8-2, 0-0 ASUN) on Sunday, December 17. EKU currently heads into the weekend with only two losses on the year, with those two losses coming against Power 5 opponents in Utah and Tennessee. Tipoff between the Mocs and Colonels is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET at McKenzie Arena and fans will be able to follow along with the game on ESPN+ or over the radio on WFLI 96.1 FM/100.3 FM/1070 AM or the Varsity Network app. Live stats will also be available at GoMocs.com.
50 SEASONS OF CHATTANOOGA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The 2023 season for the Chattanooga women's basketball team marks a major landmark for the program and the university, as UTC women's basketball officially celebrates its 50th season of competition as a university sponsored athletic program. Following the adoption of the Title IX legislation back in 1972, UTC added women's basketball, tennis and volleyball programs to its roster of athletic teams, bringing on five decades of history and success for each of the teams. Chattanooga WBB will be putting on multiple promotions and content pieces throughout the 2023-24 season to celebrate the program's history, culminating in the team hosting its 50th Season Celebration and Reunion during the Mocs' February 3 matchup against Furman at McKenzie Arena.
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