UTC freshman guard Lakelyn Bouldin shoots over Sadasia Tipps during the Mocs’ home win over East Tennessee State on Jan. 14.Lakelyn Bouldin just needed to get back to familiar surroundings.
Mired in a shooting slump that included misses on 12 consecutive shots, eight of which were 3-pointers, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga freshman guard made her first three attempts in a 70-50 Southern Conference home win over Mercer on Thursday.
She finished with 14 points on 3-for-7 shooting from 3-point range and admitted she needed to see that first one go in.
“It gave me a lot of confidence, because I’ve not been shooting as well as I have been the past couple of games,” Bouldin said. “It helped a lot.”
Her teammates and coaches have encouraged her to keep shooting, which she definitely has done well at home. Bouldin has connected on 47 percent of her 49 attempts from 3-point range at McKenzie Arena, compared to 30 percent on the road.
The fact she is going to keep getting open looks with upperclassmen such as senior forward Jasmine Joyner and junior point guard Chelsey Shumpert on the floor is more reason to remain confident. Joyner, for instance, was the SoCon player of the month for January after averaging 14.5 points, 11.9 rebounds and 5.3 rebounds in eight games.
“She just has to shoot the ball,” UTC coach Jim Foster said of Bouldin. “She’s not going to stay in a slump for long, because her teammates are looking for her. She has the opportunity to shoot shots that are high percentage for her.”
Shumpert knows. As a freshman, she played off the ball much like Bouldin does now, with 94 of her 155 shots from 3-point range, so she can attest to the need to stay locked in when things aren’t going well.
“She just has to worry about the next game and don’t dwell on being in a slump,” Shumpert said. “She hasn’t been shooting as well as she normally does, but she just has to prepare for the next game. The shots will fall, and we need her in the SoCon, so she has to keep her head up.
“She bounced back well today.”
The Mocs’ win Thursday gave them a one-game lead over both Mercer and East Tennessee State and a two-game lead over Furman, which handed UTC its lone league loss but endured its third SoCon loss Thursday at Western Carolina. The Mocs take the floor this afternoon against Samford (9-14, 2-6) in the first half of a doubleheader with a chance to improve to 8-1 in the league and 14-9 overall.
“We’re starting to play better,” Bouldin said Thursday night. “We played better today than we have, so I think the chemistry keeps getting better and better each game.
“If we keep that up, I think that’s going to solve some problems.”
So is Bouldin making 3s, which she’s done very well most of this season.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.