CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Jasmine Joyner had a career night and led the Mocs to a 61-46 win over instate foe UT Martin Saturday night for UTC's 17^th consecutive home court win. UTC improves to 5-2 overall while the Skyhawks fall to 2-4 on the year.
 
It wasn't enough for Joyner to score a career-high 31 points. She had a season-best 15 rebounds and added seven blocked shots to reach 221 for her career, tying her with Alex Anderson for the school record. Earlier in the day, she moved to first in the NCAA for blocked shots per game and now has 33 for the year.
 
"Jasmine played very well," Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster said. "If a player moves well without the ball in a zone, there's going to be ample opportunities for her because no one person is responsible for her. Our players were doing a good job of getting into the seams and penetrating to give her good angles and passes."
 
The Southaven, Miss., junior started the game making her first six shots, including back-to-back 3-pointers. She was 11-of-19 for the game and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. She made seven of her eight shots from the charity stripe and grabbed six offensive rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.
 
The Skyhawks started the night making two of its first three shots to take a quick five-point lead. Sophomore Aryanna Gilbert (Pulaski, Tenn.) hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 5-2 moments later and Joyner added the next eight points to give the Mocs an 11-5 lead just 5:52 into the game.
 
UTC led 22-14 at the end of one quarter with Joyner carrying the load with 12 points. In the second frame, the Mocs grew their lead to as much as 10 points, 26-16 with 8:22 to go in the half, but the Skyhawks bounced back to cut the lead to 26-24 with an 8-0 run over the next 3:13.
 
Chattanooga responded and pushed its lead back out to as much as eight points twice, once on a free throw from Joyner and again with 3:11 to play in the second quarter on a jumper from junior Moses Joyner (Atlanta, Ga.). The Mocs carried a 35-30 lead into intermission.
 
In the second half, UT Martin scored four points to cut the Mocs' lead to 35-34 and it would be more than three minutes before Chattanooga's first shot would drop. However, it would be all UTC for the remainder of the third as the Mocs outscored the Skyhawks 12-0 in the last 6:36 of the frame. Sophomore Keiana Gilbert sparked the run with a short jumper in the paint and Joyner scored the final eight of the third quarter to give Chattanooga a 47-34 lead heading into the final period.
 
The Mocs' lead remained in double digits through the final quarter, getting out front by as much as 54-37 on a 3-pointer from junior Queen Alford (Decatur, Ga.) with 6:49 to play and again with just 1:38 on the clock on a jumper from Keiana Gilbert to lead 61-44.
 
The teams were even in the paint with 28 points each and each team had 11 turnovers. The Mocs outscored UTM 12-9 on points off turnovers and had 14 points off 12 offensive rebounds compared to UT Martin's seven points off four offensive boards.  UTC outrebounded the Skyhawks 35-20.
 
Alford added seven points with three rebounds while Aryanna and Keiana Gilbert each added six points. Keiana had four rebounds and Aryanna was 2-of-4 from the 3-point line. Senior Alicia Payne (Memphis, Tenn.) had four points, four rebounds and matched her season-high for assists with five and had two steals in 40 minutes on the floor.
 
UTC shot 45.1 percent from the field (23-of-51) and was 6-of-15 from the 3-point line. Led by Joyner's 7-of-8 performance, UTC shot 90 percent from the charity stripe.
 
The Skyhawks were led by DaiJia Ruffin's 17 points off the bench, making 8-of-16 and pulling down a team-high four rebounds. Haley Howard added 10 points and Myah Taylor had seven points and four boards. UTM shot 40.9 percent for the game (18-44) and made just four 3-pointers despite averaging more than 10 per game.
 
The Mocs remain home to close out an eight-game stand over 18 days on Monday, November 30. Chattanooga will host reigning National Champion and the #1 ranked UConn Huskies at the Roundhouse. The game is set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the McKenzie Arena box office or online at GoMocs.com.