Yet another third-quarter letdown sent the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team to its ninth consecutive defeat in a 90-51 home loss to Troy on Sunday afternoon at McKenzie Arena.
After a close-fought first half in which UTC led 6-0 and remained close at halftime, trailing just 31-26, the Mocs were outscored 34-10 in the third quarter. Troy had scoring runs of 11 and 13 points in the quarter as they shot 15-of-22.
"We became stagnant on offense and we weren't playing defense," UTC senior guard Lakelyn Bouldin said. "We didn't come out ready. Everything we did in the first half just went out the window."
Junior Bria Dial led UTC with 12 points, freshman Dena Jarrells had 11 points and sophomore Eboni Williams grabbed 12 rebounds, but the Mocs committed 19 turnovers and were outrebounded 61-41 after holding a 29-23 advantage at halftime.
"The mentality has to completely shift," UTC coach Katie Burrows said. "We didn't play a stellar first half, but we did a lot of good things, and we certainly executed much better than that third quarter.
"Most of the time when we go in at halftime we're doing OK and are right there in it. But for whatever reason, we come back out so relaxed."
Troy (7-2) had five players score in double figures, led by Kayla Robinson's 15, and all 12 Trojans who played scored against the stumbling Mocs (1-11).
In a game with not many positives for the home team, Burrows singled out the play of junior Liz Wood, who scored five points - all in the fourth quarter - and made the first 3-pointer of her UTC career with 6:53 remaining in the game.
"She's a special kid," Burrows said of the reserve guard. "She may not be the most talented one on the floor, but she was all heart and did everything she could and finally hit a 3, and she hit those free throws in a tough situation. I'm very proud of her and her and her effort."
The path for the Mocs doesn't get any easier, with a road trip to take on No. 9 North Carolina State and former UTC coach Wes Moore coming Thursday before a home game against Ohio on Dec. 29 to wrap up 2019 and nonconference play.
Dial said the prospect of a new year and a fresh start in Southern Conference play may help after the Mocs' struggles this season so far.
"I feel like we need a sense of it being like it's 0-0 and not letting what we have done define us," she said. "Moving forward, we know that conference is coming up and we need to get ready for that, really."
For Burrows, the struggles of her team in her second season as head coach is hard, and the former UTC player and assistant is looking for someone on her team to step up and demand better from herself and her teammates.
"We don't have that one person who will grab somebody by the jersey and just get after them," she said. "Internally there has to be some kind of fire and something that comes out to really get this back going again.
"I've just got to keep doing my job, and I've just got to keep coaching them in practice and hope that it kicks in."
Contact Jim Tanner at JFTanner@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JFTanner.