CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- With the ink still wet on this week's AP Top 25, No. 25 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga came away with a defensive 49-32 win over fellow Southern Conference unbeaten Samford Monday night at the McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs run their win streak to 14 games and improve to 18-3 on the year while remaining unscathed in league play at 6-0. The Bulldogs saw its five-game win streak snapped and fall to 11-9 overall and 4-1 in conference action.
Freshman Keiana Gilbert (Columbia, Tenn.) was 6-of-10 from the field and led all scorers with 14 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. Senior Ka'Vonne Towns (Lilburn, Ga.) was the only other UTC player in double figures with 13 points and both of Chattanooga's 3-pointers along with three steals.
While neither team was able to run away with the game on the offensive end, the Mocs held Samford to a season-low 32 points, the fewest points allowed to a UTC opponent this season. Chattanooga forced 18 turnovers and had 11 steals on the night converting that into 18 points.
The Mocs led from wire-to-wire and got out front by as much as 16 points in the first half and carried a 33-20 advantage into halftime. Towns hit a 3-pointer to start the scoring and UTC went on to take a 9-2 lead with 14:30 to go in the opening half.
Over the next 5:25, Chattanooga added 11 more points to its total while allowing the Bulldogs just two points and led 20-4 with 9:05 to go in the first.
Samford's offense stepped up and the Bulldogs outscored UTC 8-0 over the next 1:41 to cut the margin to 20-12 but that's the closest it would be the remainder of the game.
The two teams combined for five 3-pointers, all in the first half and went 0-for-15 combined in the second. While UTC was 7-of-23 from the field in the latter frame, the Bulldogs made just four shots on 16 tries, scoring just 12 points in the half.
Chattanooga held a 24-18 advantage in the paint despite the Mocs' two centers, sophomore Jasmine Joyner (Southaven, Miss.) and senior Destiny Bramblett (Radcliff, Ky.) combining for just four points (2-of-16) on the night. The Mocs matched their season-low for turnovers with just six in their second straight game, giving up two points to the Bulldogs on the miscues.
Junior Alicia Payne (Memphis, Tenn.) played all 40 minutes for Chattanooga despite picking up her second and third fouls in a span of just 27 seconds at the midpoint of the second half. She had eight points, six rebounds and two assists.
Chattanooga's bench, led by sophomore Moses Johnson's (Atlanta, Ga.) eight points and five boards, outscored Samford's 10-5.
Samford was led in scoring by Taylor Reece who had two of the Bulldog's three treys. She also snared a team-high five rebounds. Hannah Nichols added six points and Brittany Stevens tossed in five. Each had three rebounds. Krista Stricklin had a team-best five rebounds and three assists.
The Mocs SoCon win streak improved to 40 straight games and UTC collected its fifth straight win against the Bulldogs.
Chattanooga returns to action Saturday against Mercer at 3 p.m. in the first of a doubleheader with the men who will host The Citadel. Tickets are on sale at the McKenzie Arena box office or online at GoMocs.com.
