Katie Burrows made no University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball players available to the media after Friday's 62-45 home loss to Eastern Kentucky, with the frustrated coach saying the Mocs needed to "figure out who they are."
The Mocs are talented. They've been in almost every game they've played so far this season - even having multiple good quarters in some of their losses - but they haven't been able to put a complete performance together.
Sunday's result, a 96-87 victory over Georgia Southern at the Georgia State Classic in Atlanta, won't erase the earlier frustration, and UTC still turned the ball over 25 times. But the feeling for the Mocs, who improved to 3-4, was much better than two days prior.
They shot 56% from the field against the Eagles (3-3) and topped 90 points in regulation for the first time since scoring 91 against Davidson on Feb. 12, 2011. They made 14 3-pointers, the first such instance since that same game. Five UTC players reached double figures in points, led by Bria Dial's 23 as the senior hit a career-high seven 3s.
Eboni Williams added 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Freshman guard Sigrun Olafsdottir had her best game as a Moc, totaling 16 points, six rebounds and eight assists, and Abbey Cornelius matched Olafsdottir's scoring output while adding five rebounds and five assists. Morgan Hill made all five of her shots, including a trio from 3-point range, as she scored 13 points.
Georgia Southern, which led 27-26 after the first quarter but trailed 41-39 at halftime before heading to the fourth quarter up 69-68, was led by Jaiden Hamilton's 16 points.
The Mocs play again Monday, facing host Georgia State (4-2) at 3 p.m.
Mocs star
The occasional recklessness with which Williams plays can be seen as a tradeoff for the fact that her activity on the court affects so many things in a positive way. Against the Eagles, she was a plus-33, which is pretty impressive considering UTC won by just nine points.
Key stat
The Mocs were outscored 24-0 in the 8:23 that Williams sat. They scored 96 points while allowing 63 in the 31:37 that she played.
Turning point
When the Eagles scored five straight to cut the Mocs' lead to 85-81 with 2:22 remaining, there could have been cause for concern considering the Mocs' track record this season. However, UTC responded with an 8-0 run, with Cornelius scoring six on four free throws and a putback, to push the lead to 12.
Final thought
It's probably safe to assume the Mocs are going to be a high-turnover team. Some of that stems from having young point guards - Olafsdottir and sophomore Dena Jarrells are the primary ball handlers - but every player on the team is prone to losing possession. Burrows' challenge is cutting that number down to give the offense a chance to flourish, because 23 turnovers almost cost them against Austin Peay and 25 made Sunday's game closer than it should have been. Winning with so many mistakes is not a sustainable model, so UTC must reduce its turnovers to have a chance to reach its goals this season.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.