There was only a certain level of excitement for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team after Thursday's 74-45 Southern Conference win over Western Carolina at McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs (11-8, 6-4) are fourth in the eight-team league standings, but they've yet to put consecutive wins together against the same opponent during this SoCon season in which teams play the same foe at the same site twice over a three-day span for all but one series, with the seventh a traditional home-and home set.
The Mocs have won series openers and they've avenged losses to secure splits, but they haven't shown the consistency needed to earn a sweep. A win at Furman preceded a loss. A loss against Samford preceded a win, and it was the same at Mercer - then the Mocs won their first game at Wofford before getting routed in the second.
So while the 29-point win over the Catamounts (5-13, 2-6) means the Mocs have struck the first blow, the test of their consistency will come in Saturday's 5 p.m. rematch at McKenzie.
"It's like, 'Great team win, but don't be complacent, don't get satisfied, don't relax. Because these are the moments where they're going to come back and bite you in the butt, because they're going to make those adjustments and they're going to try and ram it down your throat even more,'" UTC coach Katie Burrows said of her postgame message.
The Mocs controlled Thursday's game on the scoreboard from the start, leading for all but 10 seconds. The bench was used heavily, with eight reserves combining for 38 points to the starters' 36, and subs Anna Walker (16) and Dena Jarrells (13) led the team in scoring.
Nadia Marshall had 21 points as Western Carolina's only double-digit scorer, but Kyla Allison had six rebounds and five assists for the Catamounts.
Mocs stars
Jarrells and Walker - who teamed up for the winning points against Austin Peay earlier this season - provided their own special moments Thursday. Jarrells' highlight occurred in the first quarter when she knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and provided a spark off the bench. Walker's came in the final 10 minutes, when the freshman from Bradley Central scored 11 of her career high.
Key stats
The Mocs were 0-3 when Eboni Williams scored 10 or fewer points in a game this season. They were 1-4 when fellow starter Bria Dial had 10 or fewer. So to get the win with contributions all around the roster was really good. Williams had nine points and a game-high seven rebounds, and Dial added seven points with four assists, sharing the team high with Jarrells.
Turning point
The Catamounts had remained pesky throughout the game, trailing by just nine midway through the third quarter, but the Mocs outscored the visitors 12-5 the rest of the period and then started the fourth with a 9-2 spurt to blow the game wide open.
Quotable
"If you're not careful, a game like this can go to your head, and then you can come in on Saturday and be lax and not really take care of the ball like we should. But I know we're not going to take this lightly, and we'll be able to come in on Saturday and do exactly what we did today to get a win." - Walker
"One of the things that Coach Katie discussed earlier in the season was me bringing that little energy off the bench, a little push. So when I'm over there, I'm watching and seeing what I can run as a point guard. Then coming in, they don't really expect a change all of a sudden in the flow of the game, and we're able to adjust. I feel like that gives us an extra push." - Jarrells
Final thought
Nice win and an important win, but for a team that has shown it should be mentioned among the best in the league, Thursday was expected. Taking care of business Saturday becomes even more important if the Mocs want to work their way toward the top prior to the league tournament, which is quickly approaching.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.