CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Freshman Raven Thompson led five scorers in double figures as Chattanooga handed ETSU its second road loss of the season, beating the Bucs 73-62 Saturday afternoon at The McKenzie Arena in Southern Conference women's basketball action.
 
Thompson went 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, nailed her single attempt beyond the arc and dished out a career-best five assists. Joining her in double digits was Yazz Wazeerud-Din with 16 points, Addie Grace Porter added 13 and Abbey Corenlius and Sigrun Olafsdottir chipped in 10 apiece.
 
The Mocs led wire-to-wire getting out to a 7-0 lead to start the game. UTC only allowed one free throw for the Bucs through the first 4:48 of play, leading 11-1 before ETSU ripped the nets in the first quarter.
 
While the Mocs shot 53.8 percent in the opening period, making 7-of-13 including three from deep, the Bucs struggled with just a pair of baskets, shooting 2-of-12 (16.7) in the first, but was 4-of-5 from the line.
 
The Bucs pulled closer in the second, edging UTC 16-14 in the period and trailing 33-22 at the break.
 
Chattanooga came out on fire in the third quarter, lighting up the nets for 24 more points and stretching its lead to 16, its largest of the game, 57-41 heading into the fourth. Porter scored 11 of her 13 points in the frame making all three of her attempts from 3-point range while snatching four rebounds.
 
ETSU made a push in the fourth outscoring the Mocs 21-16, but were unable to cut into the double-digit lead.
 
Chattanooga had its second-best shooting performance of the year making 50 percent (25-50) from the field while matching its season-best for 3-pointers with nine.
 
The Mocs were led on the boards by Porter for the 10^th time this season. She had a game-high eight and UTC outrebounded the Bucs 32-22. Chattanooga had no trouble sharing the ball with a season-best 17 assists. Thompson dished out five and Porter had four while Cornelius and Olafsdottir had three apiece.
 
ETSU was led by Jiselle Thomas' 19 points. Also in double figures for the Bucs was Jakhyia Davis with 15, Nevaeh Brown had 13 and Kendall Folley added 10.
 
Chattanooga improves to 13-10 overall and 5-3 against the league while ETSU moves to 17-7 on the year and 4-4 in SoCon play.
 
UP NEXT:
• Chattanooga will travel to Mercer on Feb. 9 and then to Samford on Feb. 11.
• UTC will host Furman on 2/16 for the Breast Cancer Awareness Game.
• Senior Day will be Saturday, 2/18 against Wofford. The Mocs will bid farewell to four seniors in their final home game.
 
FROM THE HEAD COACH
"First and foremost, thanks for all the fans that came out today. It's a fun environment to play in front of with as much support as we get as especially as we continue to build it. And after following what our performance look like last Saturday, and still come back means a lot. So very appreciative of everyone that showed up and how loud they were. It means a lot to our young people."
 
"With that said, I thought our kids competed and played hard. That's kind of our theme of the week was play hard and when things don't go well play harder. I thought that was kind of something that we let ourselves down last weekend. It's a lot easier to play hard though when the ball goes through the basket like it did. We executed very, very well. Screen, passed and made the right plays and then stepped into it and shot with some confidence. So overall, very, very pleased. But now it's time to learn how to handle success and try to get this thing moving forward. We have a really big week as we head down to Mercer and Samford this upcoming week."
 
TOP TAKEAWAYS
• When scoring 70 or more points, the Mocs are 4-0. When shooting 50% or better, UTC is 2-0.
• Five Chattanooga players were in double figures for the first time since 12/20/20 vs. Georgia Southern at the Georgia State Holiday Classic in Atlanta.
• UTC led wire-to-wire for the fifth time this season.