UTC's Chelsey Shumpert prepares to pass the ball to a teammate during the final women's UTC Mocs vs. South Florida Bulls Tip-Off Classic game at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014.
UTC's KaVonne Towns drives up the court during the Mocs' loss to South Florida Bulls on Sunday in the Tip-Off Classic at McKenzie Arena.With her team struggling on offense and trailing on its home court, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Ka'Vonne Towns took control, scoring 13 second-half points and the final 10 points of the game against South Florida on Sunday afternoon.
But her final shot -- a 3-point attempt as time expired -- bounced off the rim and the Mocs dropped to 1-1 on the young season with a 59-57 loss in the Chattanooga Tip-Off Challenge at McKenzie Arena.
"My teammates definitely did a great job of knowing that I was feeling it," Towns said after the game. "I was just trying to get open and make plays happen.
"I thought that I should have made (the final basket), but it just didn't go in," she said.
Towns scored 18 for the game and freshman Keiana Gilbert added 11 -- carreer bests for both players -- to lead UTC, and South Florida was led by 15 points by Courtney Williams and a double-double by Alisia Jenkins with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
UTC started fast against the Bulls (1-1), jumping out to an early advantage and leading by eight at 16-8 with 9:36 to go in the first half. But poor shooting and fouls gave USF an opening and they ouscored UTC 23-5 -- including the final 10 points of the half -- to take a 31-21 lead at the intermission.
Mocs coach Jim Foster said the end of the first half was the deciding factor in the loss which snapped the longest home winning streak in the nation at 40 games.
"I thought we played well in the first half except for the last three minutes," he said. "And that three minutes determined the game. I thought for the 37 minutes we played extremely well, and for three we played very poorly. Bad decisions and quick shots.
"We wanted to move the ball, reverse the ball and take our time, and we come down and take a 3 with 1:21 to go in the half with something like 25 seconds to go on the shot clock. That's not the way we want to play, and we're not going to be a very good team playing like that."
UTC's starting post player, 6-foot-2 Jasmine Joyner took the bench after picking up her second foul at the 14-minute mark of the first half, and Towns said her absence had an impact.
"It definitely hurt us because of her size and ability to just grab the ball and put it back up and in," she said. "Destiny (Bramblett) came off the bench and did a good job, but it still hurt us."
After the intermission, UTC began attacking the basket, forcing turnovers and getting to the free-throw line. Freshman Keiana Gilbert scored the Mocs' first four points of the half from the line, and her sister, sophomore Aryanna, added two more free throws before a 3-pointer by Towns pulled the Mocs within three with 17:36 to play.
"In the first half, I was just in a rush and trying not to let them block my shots and it was making me change my shots," Keiana Gilbert said. "In the second half, I tried to calm down and started making some shots around the basket.
"I think we needed to slow down on offense while keeping up our pressure on defense. In the second half we just executed and started making shots."
UTC tied the game at 43 with 10:29 to play, took the lead on a Towns' 3-pointer with 6:09 to play and led 57-52 on another 3 by Towns with 3:52 to play. But for every big shot UTC made, South Florida usually answered on the next possession.
"The one thing I didn't like in the second half was when we made a big basket, they came down and came right at us and scored," Foster said. "Really good teams score and then take pride in getting a stop, and even though we're a pretty good defensive team we don't understand that yet."
After the Bulls took the lead on a pair of free throws by Shaleth Stringfield and a missed 3-point try by Joyner, the Mocs got the ball back with six seconds remaining and got the shot -- but not the result -- they wanted.
"That's what we wanted -- to push the ball hard and have (Towns) trail the play and then everybody else was going to the glass," Foster said. "She had a great look. It just did everything but go in."
Despite the loss, Foster said that Sunday's setback should be a learning experience for his young team, and they can learn a lot from the example set by Towns when her team needed her.
"I've talked to this team about leadership, and I've talked to (the media) about they were all looking around for (former player) Taylor Hall," he said. "Today, Ka'Vonne was Taylor Hall-ish. She wanted the ball, and wanted to take the shots and took the responsibility on her shoulders, which is what seniors do.
"She played like a senior."
Contact Jim Tanner at jtanner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6478. Follow him at twitter.com/JFTanner.