The highlight of Kayla Christopher’s freshman season, so far at least, came Monday night in the closing seconds against Georgia Southern, when the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga guard hit a game-winning 3-pointer.
“I knew it was going in as soon as I let it go,” Christopher said.
The Lady Mocs (10-6, 5-2 Southern Conference) have won eight of their last nine games heading into today’s outing at Appalachian State (7-7, 3-2). Christopher has started 11 games, including the past four since senior Tagan Hatchett suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Of the four freshmen that UTC is relying on heavily this season, Christopher has been the most consistent and most productive. She’s third on the team in scoring (8.3 points per game), at 5-foot-9 she’s second in rebounding (5.9), second in steals (1.2) and she’s tied for the team lead in assists (2.6).
Lady Mocs coach Wes Moore attributes much of Christopher’s first-year poise and consistency to the fact that she’s the daughter of a coach. Michelle Christopher is the coach at Oliver Springs High School, where her daughter was a four-time all-state selection.
“They’re leaders, they understand the game,” Moore said of the players he’s had who were coached by a parent. “Kayla probably sees the floor and passes as well as any guard we have. That’s the thing, even on a night when she’s not scoring, she’s rebounding, she’s feeding the post, she’s doing the little things. She’s definitely a coach’s kid.”
Christopher knew she had a chance to contribute coming in to this season. Even though she’s struggled from time to time, she said she’s seldom felt like an overwhelmed freshman on the floor.
“You can’t feel like a freshman forever — you got to step up,” she said. “When Tagan got hurt, I knew I had to step up. There’s no more time to feel like a freshman, you’ve got to play with the big dogs.”
She was a “big dog” against Georgia Southern, finishing with a career-high 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds. The 3 from the top of the key with 3.3 seconds left that gave UTC a 57-55 win was her fourth of the game.
“I thought Kayla, the whole game, was hitting some big shots for us,” Moore said, “so it was only fitting that she would knock down the big one there at the end.”