For the third consecutive season, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team fell behind at Wofford.
For the third straight year, a second-half rally helped the Mocs come out victorious.
The Terriers built a 15-point lead in the third quarter of Thursday's game, but the Mocs used a 13-0 run to pull within two by the end of the period. UTC ended the game on an 8-0 run, holding the home team scoreless for the final 4:38 of a 54-47 win at Jerry Richardson Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C.
The win put UTC coach Jim Foster two wins from 900 for his career. His team is back in action Saturday at Furman, with the Mocs at home again next Thursday against Samford.
"We got sounder and guarded with communication; ratcheted it up on the defensive end," Foster said on UTC's postgame radio broadcast. "Offensively we were more patient and took advantage of the opportunities that were there."
Last season, the Mocs trailed 23-15 in the second quarter before rallying to win by 10. Two years ago, they trailed 32-30 before a 15-2 run put them firmly in control.
This time, the Mocs (12-6, 3-1 Southern Conference) shot 5-for-11 in the final period, but in turn held Wofford (9-11, 2-3) to 21 percent shooting in the fourth quarter.
Keiana Gilbert was the only Moc to reach double figures in scoring (20 points on 9-for-16 shooting), but she had plenty of help. Her sister Aryanna - the team's leading scorer entering Thursday's game, with her average a point better than her sister's - was held to eight points, but she had a team-high 10 rebounds. Lakelyn Bouldin, who had averaged 12.9 points per game entering Thursday, played just 18 minutes and missed her only shot.
Big for the Mocs in the second half were freshmen Bria Dial and Mya Long, who combined for 13 points. Dial had three blocks and scored all five of her points during the third-quarter run, while Long - who didn't even enter the game until 4:20 remained in the third quarter - had seven points, two rebounds and an assist. The Mocs outscored Wofford 23-6 after Dial entered the game.
"Bria is a player that does a lot of 'stat' things," Foster said. "She gets her hands on a lot of basketballs. People think they're open for 3 and she gets a piece of a lot of basketballs.
"The freshmen, we need them to mature. I thought Mya, this was her best blip. You're not going to get opportunities in games until you do it in practice. Show me that's who you are when the opportunity comes to put you in a game."
For Wofford, all 12 of Emily Ryan's points came on 3-pointers as she shot 4-for-10 from behind the arc. Wofford's quick duo of guards Cairo Booker and Da'Ja Green combined for 16 points, though they shot a combined 6-for-24 and committed eight turnovers.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.