Chattanooga 74, Butler 47
INDIANAOPLIS, Ind. - It was a career night for several University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball players as the Mocs posted a 76-47 win over Butler in non-conference action Wednesday night at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Sophomore Jasmine Joyner put up 20 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. With three blocked shots on the night, she improves her career total to 61, four behind Erin Ogan for fifth all-time at UTC.
Freshman Keiana Gilbert also had a career-night with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and eight rebounds. She also dished out five of Chattanooga’s 20 assists and added a pair of steals. Sophomore Chelsey Shumpert was the Mocs’ third player in double figures with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers adding three assists and three steals.
The Mocs shot 31-of-61 from the field (50.8%) and were 8-of-22 (36.4%) from beyond the arc. Joyner had all of Chattanooga’s free throws, making 6-of-7.
Butler, playing with a limited roster due to injuries, had its only lead of the night on a 3-pointer from Sydney Buck in the opening minutes, 3-2 at the 18:57 mark. After that it was all Chattanooga. The Mocs built its lead to as much as 16 points twice in the first half.
The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but the Mocs pushed the offense with 11 straight points three minutes to make it a 46-23 game with 14:01 to play. The Bulldogs cut the Mocs lead to 18 twice more, but Chattanooga would continue its offensive onslaught with freshman Anna Claire Noblit and redshirt freshman Ansley Chilton putting up career numbers.
Chilton, in her collegiate debut, was 4-of-5 on the night with eight points and five rebounds in just nine minutes on the floor while Noblit drained two of her four 3-point attempts for six points.
Butler struggled with just six players rotating through most of the night and a seventh making a quick appearance as time ticked off the clock. Injuries have plagued the Bulldogs who fall to 0-3 on the year.
Loryn Goodwin led Butler with 18 points with a pair of 3-pointers and was 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Blaire Langlois was the only other Bulldog in double figures with 10 points and five rebounds. Butler shot just 30.2 percent from the field and was 7-of-16 from beyond the arc.
The Mocs outrebounded Butler 45-24 and turned 15 turnovers into 20 points. Chattanooga’s largest lead was 32 points, 76-44, with 27 seconds to play on a fastbreak layup by Shumpert after a steal.
UTC improves to 2-1 on the season and will head to South Bend, Ind., to take on No. 3/2 ranked Notre Dame. The game is set to tip at 5 p.m. Eastern time and Larry Ward will have the call on The Legend 96.1 FM.
Appalachain State 76, ETSU 70
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Seniors Serena Clark and Destiny Mitchell each delivered double-doubles, but it was not enough on Wednesday evening as visiting Appalachian State knocked off ETSU, 76-70, inside Brooks Gym.
With the loss, ETSU drops to 2-1 on the young season while ASU evens up at 1-1.
Quickly out of the gate against the regional-rival Mountaineers, the Bucs made an effort to get their offense going in the paint. The Blue & Gold’s first three baskets of the opening period were in the painted area as it used its veteran post play to establish its offensive flow. ETSU then got some assistance on the perimeter with Shamauria Bridges splashing home a three-pointer with 8:49 remaining in the half to increase its lead to a period-high seven points, 19-12. Over the next six minutes, App State battled back with a 17-10 run to pull even at 29 with 2:28 to go in the half. With the period winding down, the Blue & Gold got back-to-back buckets from freshman Malloree Schurr behind the arc and from Mitchell in the paint to allow it to go into the break with a 34-29 advantage.
Through the early portion of the second half, the Mountaineers tried to claw back from their halftime deficit to tie or go ahead, but timely makes from the Bucs kept the lead in ETSU’s favor. The Blue & Gold was able to increase its lead to eight points off of a Chandler Christopher three-pointer with 12:46 left to play as ETSU looked to be ready to take control of the game. App State had other plans, though, as it put together an 11-3 surge over the next four minutes to pull even with ETSU at 54. Once deadlocked, the game essentially turned into a glorified free-throw shooting contest with ASU taking advantage of its opportunities. With the flow of play brought to a halt due to the numerous stoppages of play, an 8-0 Mountaineer run allowed them to take a 67-59 lead with five minutes remaining. After ASU increased its lead to as many as 10 points, the Bucs showed some fight to get their deficit down to five, 72-67, with 41 seconds to play. Down the stretch, the App State converted on its opportunities from the free-throw stripe to hold on and down ETSU, 76-70.
Clark posted a season-high and team-leading 18 points to go along with a season-best 10 rebounds, while Mitchell tallied 15 points and a game-best and season-high 13 rebounds. Meanwhile, App State’s Maryah Sydnor scored a game-high 25 points, while teammate Katie Mallow added 21 points.
After shooting an efficient 8-of-10 from the free-throw line in the first half, the Bucs struggled to convert in the second with only 11-of-23 makes which ultimately proved costly. ETSU also shot below its season average from the field at 40 percent, but did make its presence known in the paint with 34 points. The Blue & Gold also held a sizeable advantage on the boards with a 45-34 advantage.
Conversely, App State was fairly-efficient from the charity stripe in the second half with 19-of-26 makes to finish the game with a 70 percent average. The Mountaineers also turned 16 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points and got 15 points from their bench. In addition, ASU totaled an identical to ETSU, 34 points, in the paint but struggled from behind the arc at 27 percent (3-of-11).
The Bucs will begin a six-game road swing on Friday with a visit to Loretto, Pa. to face St. Francis (Pa.) at 7 p.m.