Jim Foster stumbled onto something in his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team's two-point loss to Tennessee, the fourth-ranked team in the nation.
Maybe even a couple of things.
His Mocs trailed 26-7 after a period of play Monday. They were down as many as 23 points in the second quarter and fans already were starting to gloat in the Lady Vols' dominance of UTC when the Mocs switched to a 2-3 zone defense in an attempt to slow the pace of play.
The plan worked, as Tennessee scored only 23 points over the final 24:47 of the game. The Mocs scored 44, but it wasn't enough in a 59-57 final at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Mocs (3-2) have a quick turnaround, as they face Arkansas State (3-0) tonight at McKenzie Arena at 6:30. The Lady Red Wolves defeated the Mocs 57-52 in Jonesboro, Ark., last season.
Although the Mocs don't use the zone defense much, that doesn't mean Foster isn't ready to employ one, as was evidenced Monday.
"I'm from Philadelphia," he said with a smile. "Not Tennessee. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Zone is something you grow up with. Every Big 5 school played a different kind of zone, and if a person is from that neck of the woods, it's somewhere in the far recesses of your mind.
"After watching them in the first quarter, the goal was to get them standing."
That plan worked. Also, the absence of junior guard Chelsey Shumpert caused the Hall of Fame coach to experiment a lot more with his lineups, and Monday he inserted 6-foot-3 forward Ansley Chilton into the game along with the 6-2 Jasmine Joyner. Both capable 3-point shooters, the two caused the Lady Vols some confusion and some mismatches, and they combined for five 3-pointers that helped fuel the comeback.
"It felt like an out-of-body experience," Chilton said of playing at Thompson-Boling Arena. "I always watched Tennessee play on their court growing up, and it was so cool to actually be out there and compete against them, a team we were so hungry to beat. At one point late in the game, Coach drew up a play for me to shoot a 3, and I was so nervous but I didn't let that get to me."
That 3-pointer from the left corner cut the Tennessee lead to 53-51 with 2:49 to play.
Junior guard Queen Alford had a team-high 19 points, while Chilton had 15.
"We had some different combinations of players in the game," Foster said. "It was the first time we've gone big with Jaz and Ansley. We'd practiced it but haven't done it in a game, but you'll probably see it again."
Fordham/UConn deal
UTC has made available a ticket combo for Saturday's NCAA playoff football game against Fordham and Monday's basketball game against UConn. For $25 a fan gets a general-admission ticket to each game. The deal is available at GoMocs.com and at the McKenzie Arena box office.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.