UTC 56, Furman 50
UTC (11-5, 2-0 SoCon)Joyner 7-13 7-8 21, Payne 3-7 0-0 8, Alford 3-10 4-6 10, K. Gilbert 5-14 0-0 10, A. Gilbert 2-5 0-0 4, Vanlandingham 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 1-2 0-0 3, Burks 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 11-14 56.Furman (8-9, 1-1)Duncan 1-4 2-2 4, Wilkins 7-10 3-4 20, Carter 1-6 0-0 2, Ellis 3-7 0-0 7, Bunn 5-14 1-2 12, Brown 1-3 0-0 2, Beasley 0-0 0-0 0, Darks 0-0 0-0 0, Goodwin 0-6 1-2 1, Woods 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 19-55 7-10 50.Halftime—UTC, 26-23. 3-point goals—UTC 3-15 (Payne 2-5, Johnson 1-1, K. Gilbert 0-1, A. Gilbert 0-2, Joyner 0-3, Alford 0-3); Furman 5-14 (Wilkins 3-3, Ellis 1-3, Bunn 1-4, Brown 0-1, Carter 0-3). Rebounds—UTC 38 (Joyner 20); Furman 34 (Carter 7). Assists—UTC 9 (Joyner 5); Furman 7 (Bunn 4). Turnovers—UTC 11 (A. Gilbert 3); Furman 7 (Bunn 3). Blocks—UTC 8 (Joyner 6); Furman 3 (Carter 3). Steals—UTC 4 (Joyner 2); Furman 8 (Wilkins 2, Ellis 2). Total fouls—UTC 12, Furman 14. Fouled out—none. A—507.
GREENVILLE, S.C. – If Jasmine Joyner was looking for a bounce-back game after a two-point performance against Wofford on Thursday, she got that Saturday.
The 6-foot-2 center for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga had 21 points, 20 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and two steals – all team highs – as the Mocs held off Furman, 56-50, at Timmons Arena for the women’s team’s 50th consecutive win in Southern Conference play.
The Mocs (11-5, 2-0) have a two-game homestand next week, starting with Western Carolina on Wednesday at 6:30.
The women sat and watched as the men suffered a loss to the Paladins prior to their game and knew they didn’t want to suffer the same fate.
“We were talking before the game and saw how they were beat, so we wanted to play for them,” junior guard Queen Alford said.
Joyner had spent a lot of time watching Thursday’s game, as she played only 25 minutes because of foul trouble.
“I wasn’t disciplined,” Joyner said. “I felt like I let my team down, and I didn’t want to have another game like that because I wanted to be there for my teammates.”
Alford and Keiana Gilbert scored 10 points each Saturday for the Mocs, who built an 11-point lead in the second half before the Paladins (8-9, 1-1) went on a 13-5 run to cut the margin to 53-50 in the final minute.
UTC executed its offense on the next possession, which ended with Alford finding Aryanna Gilbert for a backdoor layup late in the shot clock.
Furman’s Whitney Bunn missed a layup, and then Alford hit one of two free throws for the final margin.
After 22 turnovers against the Terriers on Thursday, UTC had 11 on Saturday.
“We’re a team that’s got to evolve on offense,” UTC coach Jim Foster said. “We have to play a little different because we’re down a ball-handler, but we’re starting to understand how we need to play.”
The Mocs’ defensive effort was solid, as Furman shot only 35 percent from the field.
“We can’t let go of our defense. That’ll determine wins and losses for us,” Foster said. “That allows us to hang around. It allows us to get a run; it allows us to set the tempo of the game. Teams that like to get up and go on offense will be frustrated.”
The Mocs led 18-8 after a quarter and had a 13-point lead after a 3-pointer by Alicia Payne in the first minute of the second, but Furman responded with a 13-3 run and trailed only 26-23 at halftime.
The lead never crept above seven in the third quarter, but the Mocs seemed to pull away with a 9-2 run over a 4:39 period spanning the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters prior to Furman’s final surge.
Holli Wilkins – daughter of former UTC and NBA standout Gerald Wilkins – had 20 points to lead the Paladins. Bunn scored 12.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.