The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team proved to be worthy of being nationally ranked on Monday night by grinding out an ugly 49-32 win over Samford in Southern Conference action.
The Mocs (18-3, 6-0 SoCon) struggled on offense against the gritty Bulldogs, but used defensive pressure to build a steady lead and hold on for a win just hours after making The Associated Press women's rankings at No. 25.
Freshman Keiana Gilbert led the way on offense with 14 points, and Ka'Vonne Towns scored 13 -- eight in the first half -- for UTC, which was held to 35.2 percent from the floor but scored 18 points off 18 Samford turnovers.
Samford (11-9, 4-1) was led by Taylor Reece with 10 points.
