KNOXVILLE – The University of Tennessee women’s basketball team had every intention of running the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga off the court Monday night.
The Mocs had other intentions.
The fourth-ranked Lady Vols used a 17-0 run to build a 26-7 lead after a quarter. UTC rallied back, cutting the margin to two on three occasions in the fourth quarter, including the final margin – 59-57 – in front of 9,449 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee’s Diamond DeShields scored a team-high 17 points off the bench, adding four steals. Mercedes Russell added 13 points, while Bashaara Graves had a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.
Tennessee guard Diamond DeShields (11) shoots past Chattanooga guard/forward Keiana Gilbert (20) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Nov. 23, 2015, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)UTC’s Queen Alford had 19 points, her career high as a Moc, while Ansley Chilton added a career-high 13 points on 3-of-4 3-point shooting off the bench. The Mocs played their second consecutive game without guard Chelsey Shumpert, who was injured against Indiana last week.