CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team put four scorers in double figures and shot a season-high 46.6 percent but fell 79-76 to No. 23 Indiana Thursday night at the McKenzie Arena.
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Junior
Keiana Gilbert (Pulaski, Tenn.) scored a season-high 19 points with six rebounds and five assists. She was 8-of-13 from the field with two 3-pointers in 36 minutes. Joining her in double digits were seniors
Queen Alford (Decatur, Ga.) with 17 points and
Jasmine Joyner (Southaven, Miss.) with 15. Freshman
Lakelyn Bouldin was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 from the free throw line for 10 points in her third game.
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With Indiana leading 75-70 with 3:05 to play, Joyner recorded her fourth block of the game, rejecting Tyra Buss' layup. Shumpert grabbed the rebound and two quick passes later, Gilbert connected on a layup to make it 75-72 at the 2:17 mark.
Aryanna Gilbert (Pulaski, Tenn.) managed a steal on the ensuing possession and a pair of offensive rebounds led to a
Keiana Gilbert layup with 1:22 remaining in the game to make it 75-74.
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After a pair of Hoosier free throws,
Keiana Gilbert pulled the Mocs back to within one point on another layup, making it 77-76 with just 44 seconds to play. Alexis Gassion managed a jumper 22 seconds later making it 79-76.
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Chattanooga had a chance on their end of the court, but a turnover gave the ball back to Indiana with less than eight seconds. After a pair of fouls, Gassion missed both free throws and Gilbert's desperation shot at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
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Chattanooga falls to 1-2 on the year with its first back-to-back home losses since falling to No. 1 Tennessee and Auburn at the start of the 2004-05 season. Indiana improves to 3-0.
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Both teams had a strong start to the game, shooting 50 percent in the first quarter and tied 19-19. Chattanooga outscored Indiana 16-10 in the paint in the opening frame and had six second chance points on four offensive rebounds.
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Indiana outscored the Mocs 18-13 in the second quarter, holding UTC to just 5-of-15 from the field, to take a 37-32 lead into the half. The Hoosiers dominated the paint in the period 14-2 but the Mocs shot 3-of-8 from beyond the arc.
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After trailing 37-32 at the half, the Mocs outscored the Hoosiers 24-20 in the third and led three times. They were 6-of-9 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Joyner led Chattanooga with nine points in the quarter making a pair of 3-pointers and was 3-of-4 on free throws.
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In the final period, Indiana got out to a 67-60 lead less than three minutes in. Chattanooga answered with a 10-4 run, cutting the advantage to 71-70 with 4:35 to play.
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Chattanooga was 27-of-58 from the field and hit a season-high eight 3-pointers. The Mocs made 14-of-17 from the free throw line and had 10 assists.
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Indiana outscored UTC 46-36 in the aint and 14-6 off turnovers, forcing the Mocs in to 10 on the night. Chattanooga had 12 second chance points on 11 offensive rebounds and the Hoosiers' bench outscored the Mocs 22-15. UTC outrebounded Indiana 33-31 with the difference being 11-9 on the offensive glass.
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Joyner led the Mocs with nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Alford pulled down six boards with two assists.
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Chattanooga heads to Louisville, Ky., this weekend for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Challenge. UTC will take on Lafayette College Saturday at 2 p.m. followed by a matchup with Bowling Green Sunday afternoon in the early game. Monday night, the Mocs will face host #5 Louisville in the finale that tips at 7:30 p.m.
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Log onto GoMocs.com for links to the action.
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