CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Despite not scoring a single field goal in the final 11:26 of the game, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga came away with an enormous 54-46 upset of No. 7 Stanford Wednesday night at the McKenzie Arena. The Mocs have won 43 of their last 44 games at home.
Chattanooga improves to 7-3 on the year while the Cardinal fall to 6-3 and will move on the face Tennessee this weekend in Knoxville. This is Chattanooga's second win over a Top 10 team in school history and it's second this season.
The Mocs missed all 12 attempts in the final half of the second frame but did connect on 9-of-10 free throws in that span and were 11-of-13 for the game, all in the second half.
Sophomore Chelsey Shumpert (Paducah, Ky.) scored a career-high 18 points to lead Chattanooga. She was 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, the most of her short tenure in the Mocs' lineup, and was 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
Sophomore Jasmine Joyner (Southaven, Miss.) snared 11 rebounds, nine on the defensive end and just missed a double-double with nine points while adding five blocked shots to her league-leading total. Sophomore Moses Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and contributed 10 points in just 14 minutes on the court.
Chattanooga's largest lead of the game came with 13:14 to play on a 3-pointer from Shumpert to make it 42-32. The Mocs' next field goal would be its last on a jumper from freshman Keiana Gilbert (Columbia, Tenn.) to keep the lead in double figures, 44-34 with 11:26 on the clock.
Stanford scored the next five points to cut the Mocs' lead to 44-39 with 6:01 to play. Chattanooga's next points came on a free throw from senior Destiny Bramblett (Radcliff, Ky.) who connected on 1-of-2 from the free throw line.
Just over a minute later, junior Alicia Payne (Memphis, Tenn.) made both of her shots from the line to stretch the lead to 47-39, but a quick jumper and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Karlie Samuelson slashed the lead to 47-44 with 2:10 to play.
Over the next 1:20, the two teams would trade turnovers and missed buckets, but a foul by the Cardinal to stop the clock put senior Ka'Vonne Towns (Lilburn, Ga.) on the line with 50 seconds remaining. She drained both shots, but Stanford's Bonnie Samuelson hit both of her charity shots and the lead remained a one possession game at 49-46 with 36 seconds to play.
Stanford continued to send the Mocs to the line and Shumpert hit just one of her two. Chattanooga got the ball back six seconds later on a turnover by Amber Orrange and Towns returned to the line on the possession. The Mocs hit their final four free throws for the eight-point win.
Chattanooga held Stanford to a season-low for points and its lowest field goal percentage of the year at 27.7 percent. The Cardinal averaged eight 3-pointers per game before tonight and were just 4-of-7 from long range.
Chattanooga was 17-of-53 from the field (32.1%) and were 9-of-24 from the 3-point line, the second most made treys in a game this season. Stanford out dueled Chattanooga on the boards 49-34. The Cardinal had 22 offensive rebounds resulting in just 14 second chance points and outscored the Mocs 20-12 in the paint.
However, Chattanooga forced a season-high tying 15 turnovers for Stanford and turned that into a 18-6 advantage.
Stanford's largest lead of the game came early, taking an 8-2 lead at the 17:16 mark of the first half. The Mocs quickly responded with a pair of 3-pointers from Shumpert and Towns to tie it up 8-8 with 14:27 to play in the opening stanza.
Stanford retook the lead twice before the Mocs got out front for good on a Bramblett 3-pointer with 9:06 to go in the first half. The Cardinal battled back, but the Mocs held the lead at 29-28 at the break.
Stanford, led by Lili Thompson with nine points, did not have a single player in double figures. Kaylee Johnson had seven points and a team-high 12 rebounds and Karlie Samuelson added seven points. Erica McCall pulled down eight rebounds with four points.
Earlier this season the Mocs beat then-No. 4 ranked Tennessee 67-63 at McKenzie. It was UTC's second win in three years over the Lady Vols.
The Mocs will host Tennessee Tech, Morgan State and North Carolina A&T this weekend in the Chattanooga Christmas Classic at the McKenzie Arena. UTC will take on Morgan State Saturday at 4 p.m. and North Carolina A&T Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the McKenzie Arena box office.
