Win over Rutgers still thrills Moore

The images of that magical day are still fresh, still capable of sending chills down spines. The passage of time can dull some memories, but life’s truly remarkable moments tend to linger.

“It was an awesome experience,” University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball coach Wes Moore said of the 10th-seeded Lady Mocs’ 74-69 upset of Rutgers, the No. 7 seed, in the first round of the NCAA tournament on March 20, 2004.

First there was the crowd of 6,391 that poured into McKenzie Arena and provided a true home-court advantage — cheering and providing support even when things looked bleak in the early going and then roaring and exulting as the improbable became reality.

“It was unbelievable,” Katie Galloway said. “We had played in front of crowds that big, but those were against Tennessee. This time they were actually there to see us, to cheer for us.”

Then there was Galloway’s miracle 3-pointer that gave the Lady Mocs so much more than just three crucial points. It was the signature play in the first NCAA tournament win in the program’s history, as well as the first NCAA win by a Southern Conference women’s team.

Rutgers led 43-38 early in the second half and Galloway had the ball as the shot clock was winding down. The senior all-conference guard then made what could have been a very costly rookie mistake.

“I dribbled the ball off my foot with about three seconds left on the shot clock,” said Galloway, now the girls’ basketball coach at Ringgold High School. “I chased it down and shot it as fast as I could, and somehow it banked in.”

“The whole place erupted when she hit that,” Moore said.

The 30-foot answered prayer sparked a 16-5 UTC run.

“That shot kind of changed the momentum in the second half for us,” said Galloway, who finished with 14 points and four assists.

Katasha Brown tied the game with a layup on UTC’s next possession, and the Lady Mocs took the lead for good with 12:37 to play on two Tiffani Roberson free throws.

Rutgers star Cappie Pondexter hit a 3 to cut UTC’s lead to 71-69 with 11 seconds left, but the Scarlet Knights got no closer.

Pondexter, who had a stellar collegiate career and was the WNBA Finals MVP last year, had given UTC plenty of bulletin-board motivation in the days leading up to the game.

Asked about the Lady Mocs soon after the brackets were announced, Pondexter said: “Who plays in the Southern Conference? Who did (UTC) really play? We’ve played the Tennessees, Connecticuts and Boston Colleges, which made us a stronger team, I think.”

Nine times out of 10 that might have been the case, but not on that day, on that court, in front of that crowd.

Pondexter’s comments “made the win that much sweeter,” Galloway said.

The Lady Mocs lost in the next round to Vanderbilt and UTC is still seeking its second win in the NCAAs. The Lady Mocs are 1-9 all-time in the tournament and will get another shot Sunday as the No. 12 seed in the New Orleans Region, facing fifth-seeded Kansas State in Bridgeport, Conn.

A quick glance at the team that beat Rutgers and this year’s Lady Mocs reveals several similarities: Both were senior-driven, both went through the SoCon without a loss and carried long win streaks into the tournament, and both experienced close first-round losses in the preceding couple of seasons.

All that has Galloway, for one, thinking history might repeat itself.

“I think they can beat Kansas State, I really do,” she said. “I wish I could be there, but I’ll be watching and cheering at home.”