Arianne Whitaker (4) and head coach Jim Foster confer. The Virginia Tech Hokies visited the University of Chattanooga at Tennessee Mocs in women's basketball action at McKenzie Arena on December 10, 2017.BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team's chances of pulling off a road upset Thursday took a major hit with 5:04 to play in the second quarter.
With the Mocs leading by two points, Arianne Whitaker picked up her second foul and was relegated to the bench for the rest of the half. Alabama-Birmingham responded with a 12-0 run in building an eight-point halftime lead and went on to win 60-50 in a first-round game of the Women's National Invitation Tournament at Bartow Arena.
The Mocs' season ended at 17-13. UAB (27-6) moves on to face Georgia Tech at 2 p.m. Sunday in Atlanta.
Sophomores Lakelyn Bouldin and Whitaker scored 16 points each to pace the Mocs, with Whitaker adding 12 rebounds and three blocks. Bouldin was 3-for-6 from 3-point range in her first game back after the death of her father from injuries sustained in a car accident, while Aryanna Gilbert had 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
There wasn't much offensive help otherwise, as the seven other Mocs who played combined for six points on 3-for-22 shooting. Brooke Burns, who scored 36 in the Mocs' Southern Conference quarterfinal against UNC Greensboro, was held to two points on 1-for-8 shooting, missing all four of her 3-point attempts.
"Our four freshmen did not play well," UTC coach Jim Foster said. "There was no cohesiveness. We had a poor second quarter, and I think Ary (Gilbert) felt the pressure to play faster because she felt she had to do it in the first half. She settled down and played a great second half, but the second quarter was what killed us. The start of the game was too easy and they thought it was too easy. Our ball movement was very bad in the second quarter, very bad.
"We played three quarters of solid basketball and one quarter of not-good basketball."
Kara Rawls led four Blazers in double figures with 14 points. Katelynn Thomas and Deanna Kuzmanic had 11 each, while Miyah Barnes scored 10.
The start was good for the Mocs - maybe too good, as they hit four of their first six starts in building a 9-0 lead. They led 15-10 after a quarter and 20-18 at the time of Whitaker's second foul, sending eight points and six rebounds to the bench. What followed was UAB's run and 30-22 edge at halftime.
"We slacked off a bit after the good start, so that's on us," Whitaker said. "We should have kept at it and stayed strong at the start."
The Blazers maintained a healthy lead throughout the third quarter, building an 11-point advantage the Mocs were able to cut only to seven. Down 10 points in the fourth quarter, Gilbert made a pair of driving layups to trim the margin to 45-39, but UAB responded with an 8-0 run and won going away.
The Mocs lose Gilbert, a third-team All-Southern Conference selection; her sister Keiana, a first-team honoree who missed the team's final four games with an ankle injury; and Anna Claire Noblit, who has missed the last two seasons with a back injury.
"All these experiences are great for the younger players, but they've got to learn from them," Foster said. "I think this was a good eye-opener for Brooke, because she had a great game in the conference tournament, but they (UAB) responded to that with their scout (scouting report).
"They were waiting for her and she had opportunities to do other things that she's very capable of doing and does a very good job, but she kept trying to do what had been successful in Asheville instead of adjusting, because that's what young players do. They're bound and determined to get it done, so they challenge, challenge, challenge when in fact that's not what you should be doing. You should be changing your speed; something's being given to you. When somebody takes something away from you, they're giving you something else.
"Unfortunately with a bunch of young players, it takes a while to acquire that understanding, so tonight was a great learning lesson."
The Mocs will return eight players next season who started at least one game, and they will welcome back Nakeia Burks, who missed all but three games with a knee injury.
"I think we can use this game to help prepare our freshmen that'll be sophomores, as well as our incoming freshmen," Bouldin said. "We'll have to step into more of a leadership role with both me and Air (Whitaker) being juniors, so we're just going to set the standard from the start."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.