Practice finally translated to the floor for Shelbie Davenport.
And at an ideal time.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior came off the bench in Saturday’s game and chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds in the UTC women’s 71-65, come-from behind victory over Samford in the final game of the regular season. The win gave the Mocs (17-11) the No. 3 seed in this week’s Southern Conference tournament in Asheville, N.C., where they will face UNC Greensboro (12-17) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m..
Davenport’s points Saturday were her most since she scored 13 against Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 17 – and one fewer than she had totaled in the previous nine games. Coach Jim Foster said before Tuesday’s practice that the 6-footer had been “practicing well” in recent weeks, but it hadn’t translated to the game until Saturday.
“She’s worked very hard and improved a lot,” Foster said. “She’s more effective in certain situations, and that was one that was there on Saturday. They (Samford) went small, which allowed us to go small so she’s not having to guard someone two, three inches bigger or 20-30 pounds heavier.