For one half, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team played about as well as it has three games into a new season.
Unfortunately for the Mocs, the hole had been dug at that point and they were on their way to a 78-67 loss Wednesday at Stetson in DeLand, Fla.
UTC (0-3) fell behind 30-8 after a quarter and trailed by 26 points on multiple occasions before outscoring its host 24-10 in the final period.
Brittney Chambers had 13 of her game-high 26 points for the Hatters (2-1) in the first quarter, making all five of her shots, including a 3-pointer. Stetson went 10-for-11 from the field in the period, with the lone miss a 3-pointer by Kennedi Colclough halfway through.
The Mocs struggled that period, shooting 3-for-14 and committing five turnovers. But midway through the second quarter, they began to get their footing and played relatively even with Stetson the rest of the way.
UTC's Gilbert sisters - seniors Aryanna and Keiana - started to heat up in the second half.
Keiana had 19 of her team-high 24 points, her first 20-point contest since scoring 21 against East Carolina on Dec. 18, 2015. It was the second-best scoring output of her career, with only a 27-point performance in a victory against Tennessee her freshman season better. She shot 8-for-16 from the field and 5-for-6 from 3-point range at Stetson.
Aryanna added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
The Mocs shot 37 percent from the field and cut their turnovers from 25 against Central Florida on Monday to 12 on Wednesday while forcing 18 Stetson turnovers, with 13 steals.
McKenna Beach had 16 points for Stetson, Colclough 13 and Sydney Wagner 12.
UTC's next game is against Presbyterian at 11 a.m. Saturday at McKenzie Arena.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.