ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team played against an upstart UNC Greensboro team Thursday without two of the 15 best players in the Southern Conference.
UTC trailed by double digits in the third quarter and by two points with under 10 seconds to play in both regulation and the first overtime. And still almost won.
That was the case because while the 70-66 double-overtime loss closed the chapter of seniors Aryanna and Keiana Gilbert, it also looked as though it was the start of another book with the emergence of freshman Brooke Burns. In only her fourth career start she scored a UTC SoCon-tournament-record 36 points, including the final 25 points of the game.
Burns - who averaged 20 points and five rebounds in her final four games - made 13 of her 23 shots against UNCG, including 5 of 11 from 3-point range.
She said she found her confidence in the overtime win over Samford at home.
"I didn't feel like tonight was about me," she said Thursday. "It was about everyone else, and I just felt really competitive and just tried to get the win for everybody who couldn't play because we had the opportunity to, so I want to play hard and hit some shots."
The Mocs played without Keiana Gilbert, a first-team all-conference selection who injured an ankle before the Mercer game on Feb. 22, and Lakelyn Bouldin, whose father died from injuries suffered in a car accident Monday afternoon.
Burns wasn't alone in impact from freshmen. The Mocs' all-freshman selection, Bria Dial, scored only six points but held All-SoCon second-teamer Nadine Soliman without a field goal, with the Spartans sophomore's only points a pair of free throws in the final seconds.
And they, along with Mya Long, who started Saturday, are back next season. So are freshman Rochelle Lee and sophomore Arianne Whitaker, who started all but two games and was one of only three players to play in all 29.
The Mocs will have three seniors going into next season: guards Shelbie Davenport and Molly Melton and forward Ashlyn Wert.
"I hope that this was a glimpse into our future," coach Jim Foster said. "The freshmen were in an experience they hadn't been in before, and from an offensive point of view and a defensive point of view, our freshmen played as well as you can play. Bria has a lot to work on offensively and I think she will, and Brooke has gotten better defensively. I like it.
"Our freshmen grew a lot tonight."
While looking forward, Thursday was also a time to look back. Aryanna Gilbert has been with Foster for all four of his SoCon championships, while her sister never lost a SoCon tourney game in which she played, finishing 9-0.
"It's just been an amazing past five years," said Aryanna, who will be a graduate assistant next season. "I've grown as a person, just grown in so many different ways. I look at all these guys like family.
"I'm just grateful I still had the opportunity to be with this group and can be around them next year."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.