KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team had a rough outing at No. 4 Tennessee at Thompson-Boiling Arena in Knoxville, Monday night. The Lady Mocs dropped their second game of the season with a 103-43 decision road tilt.
With a crowd of over 10,000, it was a tough start in the big-time atmosphere for the young Lady Mocs. Tennessee raced out to a 19-0 lead on 7-of-10 shooting, including a 3-for-3 performance from behind the arc from Meighan Simmons. UTC wasn't helping matters on the other end of the floor, starting the game 0-6 with seven turnovers in the first five minutes of action.
Freshman Alex Black (Memphis, Tenn.) finally broke the ice for the Lady Mocs with a pull-up jumper at the 14:22 mark. However, that was one of just a few good looks the Lady Mocs got at the basket in the first half.
Tennessee showed off its top-five national ranking with tough defense and lights out shooting in the opening frame. The Lady Vols shot a school-record 11-for-18 from behind the arc in the first half while forcing 17 turnovers and posting a 51-16 lead at the break.
Things didn't get much better in the second half as Tennessee added another 52 points on 49 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes. The Lady Vols had five players in double figures, led by 26 from Simmons.
UTC was led by Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) who finished with 22 points. The junior forward from Meridian, Miss., was 8-of-12 from the field and 6-of-7 from the foul line. She was the only Lady Moc in double figures and also had a team-high eight rebounds.
Freshman Destiny Bramblett (Radcliff, Ky.) pulled down five of her six rebounds in the first half and junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) drained two of the Lady Mocs' four 3-pointers for nine points on the night.
The Lady Mocs are back in action on Friday, Nov. 19 when they continue their road trip through the SEC with a visit to Georgia. Tip-off against the Lady Bulldogs is set for 7:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) in Athens, Ga., and fans can catch the game live on ESPN Radio 105.1 FM or on Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.
The next home game is Tuesday, Nov. 23, against Austin Peay at 7:00 p.m. in McKenzie Arena. Tickets are available by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or online on GoMocs.com.
