Frustrated may not be the proper emotion to describe University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball coach Katie Burrows after Thursday’s 50-42 loss at Mercer.
Incredulous is probably more apt.
Defensively, the Mocs did everything they needed to do for most of the Southern Conference matchup in Macon, Georgia. The visitors shot 34% compared to the Bears’ 30% and forced 12 consecutive missed shots to start the fourth quarter, which helped UTC briefly take a 40-38 advantage on an Eboni Williams three-point play with 4:03 to go.
But it was almost as if the final stretch mattered more to the Bears (11-4, 5-1) than it did to the Mocs (8-7, 3-3), as the hosts made four of their final eight shots and outrebounded UTC 8-2 in the final span after Williams’ go-ahead free throw.
Those hustle points that don’t ever seem to get talked about made all the difference this time. The Bears grabbed 18 offensive rebounds to UTC’s seven, which led to seven more second-chance points than the Mocs’ five. In a game that came down to the little things, the Bears made the extra plays to get the win at Hawkins Arena.