For the second consecutive game, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team built an 18-point lead in the first half.
But unlike Sunday's home matchup with Marshall, which rallied for a 79-74 win, Tennessee Tech wasn't going to be making a similar run Wednesday night against visiting UTC. The Mocs made sure of that.
UTC scored the first 18 points against the reigning Ohio Valley Conference tournament champions and cruised, defeating the Golden Eagles 70-45 at the Hooper Eblen Center in Cookeville.
The Mocs (3-1) are home for their next game, facing Division II member UVA Wise (1-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday at McKenzie Arena.
Jada Guinn, who played in 120 games at Tennessee Tech and was MVP of the 2023 OVC tournament, had a team-high 15 points for the Mocs. She was joined in double figures for UTC by Karsen Murphy, who scored 14 before fouling out, and Hannah Kohn and Raven Thompson, who scored 12 each.
Kohn continued the hot start to her career from 3-point range, with the freshman making three of four tries from behind the arc against Tennessee Tech (0-2). Thompson also had five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block, and 5-foot-4 point guard Addie Porter had a game-high seven rebounds as UTC finished with a 31-21 advantage on the glass.
Defensively, the Mocs limited the Golden Eagles to 32% shooting, including a first half in which the home team had almost as many turnovers (13) as shots (16). UTC led 40-12 at the break.
"I was really proud of us defensively," UTC coach Shawn Poppie said on the postgame radio broadcast. "We fouled a little bit in the first half, and they obviously changed their philosophy in the second half and tried to pound it inside. We kind of waited (until the end of the third quarter) to bring some double teams there for a stretch, and it settled us back down and kind of threw them off a rhythm."
The Mocs led 55-32 after three quarters, but they finished poorly with seven turnovers in the fourth. It didn't matter Wednesday, but Poppie expressed frustration afterward, saying "we just lose our minds for no reason."
Former Bradley Central standout Anna Walker, who played one season at UTC before transferring to Tennessee Tech, struggled against her former team. The senior forward had two points, making one of her eight shots.
Yaubryon Chambers and Reagan Hurst led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 13 points apiece, with Chambers 5-for-7 from the field and Hurst 8-for-10 at the foul line.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.