There's a level of consistency that the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team is still aspiring to reach.
That has hurt the Mocs in recent games.
With so much being expected of senior guards Aryanna and Keiana Gilbert and sophomore Lakelyn Bouldin this season, offensive lulls have been magnified because there just haven't been many other consistent scoring options. The "Big Three" have combined to score 69 percent of the team's points.
Through the course of the season, other players have stepped up on occasion and had solid offensive performances, and wins typically have coincided with that. But in UTC's Southern Conference losses at East Tennessee State on Jan. 12 and at Furman last Saturday, the Gilbert sisters and Bouldin scored all but 20 of the team's 115 points.
And if one of the three has been off, it's shown in the Mocs' inability to put points on the board in crucial moments. The team went without a field goal for the final 6:33 of the loss at ETSU, where UTC led 57-55 at the time of its last field goal. Against Furman the lull was only 3:35, but when it began the Mocs led 53-51 after a Bouldin 3-pointer.
The 5-foot-7 sophomore set career highs in shots (20) and 3-point attempts (12) against the Paladins, making five 3s to finish with 20 points.
"Lakelyn shooting opens the floor a little bit," UTC coach Jim Foster said after Saturday's loss. "It gives Keiana a little more room; she's playing very well right now and doing a lot of good things for us. Aryanna is struggling a little bit shooting the ball, but I think that'll come around."
With different players having stepped up at times - sophomore post Arianne Whitaker, junior guard Molly Melton, junior Shelbie Davenport and freshmen Bria Dial and Mya Long - the Mocs' success going forward will depend not only on Keiana Gilbert's work as the team's all-around best player, her sister's ability to be dominant on both ends and Bouldin's ability to hit shots, but also on everybody's ability to take advantage of their opportunities.
"We're a work in progress," Foster said. "The freshmen are starting to help us, but we've got to get some of these folks a little rest during games. It helps when freshmen go in and do the right thing at the right time."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.