Jim Foster challenged his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team in a number of ways after back-to-back losses against Southern Conference competition.
The Mocs apparently listened.
They took control of their game Saturday against Wofford in the third quarter and cruised to a 76-46 win in McKenzie Arena. Then seniors Aryanna and Keiana Gilbert and Anna Claire Noblit, as well as manager Chase Clounch, were honored.
The win enabled UTC (16-10, 7-5) to hold a game-and-a-half lead on Furman for third in the league standings heading into the final week. The Mocs have to defeat Samford or Mercer in their final two games to maintain that placement.
Mercer (25-2, 12-0) and East Tennessee State (17-10, 10-2) have clinched the top two spots.
The Mocs shot 51 percent from the field, made 11 3-pointers and had 19 assists against the Terriers, led by Brooke Burns' five. The 5-foot-10 freshman made her first start of the season and had 10 points and eight rebounds in addition to her assists total.
She was one of four UTC players who scored in double figures. Lakelyn Bouldin totaled 19 points, while Keiana Gilbert had 15 and Arianne Whitaker 10. Gilbert's points total moved her into 11th all-time in UTC history with 1,377 points, passing Miranda Warfield (2001-04). Whitaker had nine rebounds in the game.
Aryanna Gilbert had seven points, four assists and three rebounds in her final home game.
"We figured some stuff out," Foster said. "When we are playing that way - when we share the ball, move the ball and move ourselves - we're a hard team to guard. We've been guarding ourselves as much as any opponent has."
The Mocs held the Terriers (10-18, 3-10) to 31 percent shooting and outrebounded the visitors 40-27. UTC won all of the hustle stats, with a 28-12 margin in points in the paint, a 12-6 edge in points off turnovers and a 16-4 advantage in second-chance points.
"I think we came out and set the tempo and played like we should play every game," Keiana Gilbert said. "I think we moved the ball like we should, rebounded, and we got good results."
The Mocs led 32-22 at halftime and made a 17-5 run to start the third quarter. They led 55-33 after three and by as many as 31 before the finish.
Da'Ja Green led Wofford with 14 points, while Cairo Booker added 10. Marissa Bayer had eight points and 10 rebounds.
"I think we're a very good defensive team," Foster said. "Our struggles have been on offense, but what I liked today is that even though we were scoring and getting good shots, we never lost sight of the fact we had to guard.
"We spend a lot of time on defense; we can guard. It's the sharing and moving and having another ball-handler in there that can make plays. It's taken a while to get there, but I'm comfortable with where we are with that."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.