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ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team put up a fight Friday, but the Lady Mocs still are looking for their first win of the 2010-11 season.
The Lady Mocs used the 3-pointer to push 18th-ranked Georgia for a half, but ultimately they couldn’t hang, or rebound, with the Lady Bulldogs.
In coach Andy Landers’ 1,000th game at Georgia, the Lady Dogs held off UTC 79-69, dropping the Lady Mocs to 0-3 for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
“We’ve got to get back to at least being a solid fundamental team, and if we shoot the ball like that [13-of-26 from 3-point range] we’ll be all right,” UTC coach Wes Moore said.
The Lady Dogs (2-0) had a 19-10 rebounding edge in the first half, but the Lady Mocs’ solid shooting – 10-of-16 on 3s – kept them close.
Georgia closed the first half on a 9-2 run to lead 46-40 at the break. In the second half, the 3s stopped falling for UTC and the Lady Dogs started attacking the glass. They outrebounded UTC 26-12 in the final 20 minutes, but UTC was at least able to hold Georgia to 33 points. Jasmine Harrell led UGA with 16 points.
“I thought we came out ready to play and we shot the ball really well,” guard Kayla Christopher said. “I thought it was a really big comeback for us after Monday.”
Earlier this week, UTC junior point guard Tenisha Townsend said the Lady Mocs had to compete better against Georgia than they did Monday in Knoxville, when the game got out of hand early.
Against No. 4 Tennessee, the Lady Vols jumped to a 19-0 lead and went on to thump UTC by 60, 103-43. Friday night at Stegeman Coliseum, the Lady Mocs got behind 13-5 but quickly rallied by hitting 3s. Christopher hit three first-half 3s and scored 11 points.
Georgia and UTC traded leads for the final 11 minutes of the first half, and UTC was knocking on the door of an upset. In the second half, Georgia’s perimeter defense improved and the Lady Mocs hit just 12 of 29 shots from the field.
“There was a big difference,” Townsend, who scored 13 points, said of UTC’s effort. “We didn’t give up, even when we were losing, and we kept fighting.”
The Lady Mocs’ three losses are all to teams that appeared in the NCAA tournament last season: East Tennessee State, Tennessee and Georgia.
UTC will try again for its first win Tuesday when it hosts Austin Peay, another tournament team from a season ago.
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeatCTFP.