Lakelyn Bouldin was challenged when she took the court in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team’s 72-61 loss to No. 20 Florida on Monday, but she responded with a solid performance in the first home game of her college career.
That was no surprise to UTC coaches and players, because she’d been challenged before.
The 5-foot-8 freshman guard from Van Buren County had nine points, three rebounds and a pair of assists in 25 minutes, and she played the entire second half as Mocs coach Jim Foster searched for the right combination to compete against the Gators.
He didn’t have to look far. Despite a slow start, Foster had no problem leaving Bouldin in the game.
“We’ve had our players get up in her stuff all year, challenge her all year, and her response was that she never dropped her head,” Foster said. “She never stops trying to get better, so whether it’s Rutgers or Florida, I have no qualms putting her in games, because she competes and has a big heart.”
Logging some time at point guard, she had two turnovers in a 53-second span that helped Florida push its second-quarter lead to 13 points. But she shot 3-for-6 in the second half and didn’t have a turnover against the Gators’ pressure defense.
“After the first couple of minutes, my nerves settled down. It helped having family there and a home-court advantage. I settled down, got in a groove and it all came natural after that,” said Bouldin, who had played eight minutes in Friday’s season-opening win against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.
Now comes 23rd-ranked Indiana at 6:30 tonight at McKenzie Arena. The Hoosiers are coming off a 33-point victory over Vanderbilt on Sunday.
“I think it helps a lot that we’re getting to see different looks and different teams,” Bouldin said of the early schedule. “We’re able to see a lot of things, and that experience is going to be good.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.