The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team lost 56-54 at Belmont on Wednesday night, falling to 1-1.
The defeat in Nashville happened in heartbreaking fashion. UTC led the Lady Bruins — who were ranked sixth in CollegeInsider.com's mid-major preseason poll and received the 32nd-most votes in the Associated Press preseason poll — for more than 38 minutes of game time, but the Mocs struggled when Belmont extended its pressure defense in the fourth quarter, and they ultimately allowed a 14-point lead to slip away.
Belmont took its first lead on two Destinee Wells free throws with 24.4 seconds to play, and freshman Raven Thompson missed a contested layup at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.
The Mocs shot just 3-for-14 in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over nine times in that period, finishing with 22 turnovers that the Bruins turned into 23 points.
But for a team that won just seven games last season and was facing a Belmont squad that returned four starters from a second-round NCAA tournament team, Wednesday was a step in the right direction for both the Mocs and first-year head coach Shawn Poppie.
"I am beyond proud of that group," Poppie said on UTC's postgame radio broadcast. "You think how hard they played and how together they played, how they executed on the defensive end. We didn't execute when they got us rattled. There's a lot of tears in that locker room and I joined them, because with this group, we've got a chance. They've bought into what we're selling, they care about it. We're going to be just fine.
"This one is on me. I didn't have them prepared for what they threw at us at the end of the game, but we will get better, I promise you."
Yazz Wazeerud-Din had her second straight 20-point game, shooting 8-for-13 and grabbing five rebounds. Point guard Addie Porter played every second of the game, finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Thompson had seven points and six rebounds.
Abbie Cornelius had eight points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a pair of steals, while Destiny McClendon added six points.
The Mocs host Austin Peay at 7 p.m. Saturday at McKenzie Arena.
Compiled by Gene Henley. Contact him at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.