Samford's fast start forced the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball to battle from behind Thursday night at McKenzie Arena, and it ultimately was too much for the Mocs as they lost 71-60.
UTC's second consecutive Southern Conference defeat came despite double-double performances by UTC forwards Abbey Cornelius and Eboni Williams. Cornelius had 10 first-half points to keep the Mocs in the game and finished with 18 plus 15 rebounds, while Williams scored 10 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
"I would say (Cornelius) and Eboni really just carried us," UTC coach Katie Burrows said. "They gave us extra opportunities. They got 13 offensive rebounds, and that gave us a chance to stay in the game. We were getting production from those two positions, but I need more from other folks."
The Bulldogs (7-4, 4-0 SoCon) made five 3-pointers in the first quarter and shot 69.2% from the floor to build a 25-16 lead after the opening 10 minutes, led by Andrea Cournoyer, who finished with a game-high 26 points.
Cornelius helped the Mocs rally in the second quarter, when her jumper with 5:07 left in the period put her into double-digit scoring and pulled UTC within 32-29. Williams then capped a 7-0 run by the Mocs that cut their deficit to a point, but the visitors answered with 10 consecutive points to take a 42-31 lead into the locker room.
UTC (7-6, 2-2) seemed to have found the answer after the break and opened the second half with a 10-0 run. The Mocs took their first lead of the game on a steal and a fast-break basket by Eboni Williams with 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but Samford answered with a basket by Natalie Armstrong to put the Bulldogs up 50-49 heading into the fourth.
Both teams started slow in the final quarter before UTC took a 51-50 lead on two free throws by Dial with 7:09 to play, but that was the Mocs' last lead as Samford's Cournoyer answered with a 3. The Mocs managed just a single field goal in the quarter.
These same teams face off again at 5 p.m. Saturday at McKenzie Arena as part of a doubleheader with the UTC men, who will host UNC Greensboro at noon.
Mocs star
If not for Cornelius' strong play in the paint in the first half, UTC would never have had a chance to get back into the game. She made seven of her 13 shots from the floor and all four of her free throws while grabbing seven offensive rebounds in the game. Williams helped, especially with her rebounding in the second half, but the rest of the Mocs struggled to get shots to fall.
Key stat
UTC started the game in a zone defense, but Samford scored five of its nine 3-pointers in the first quarter to force the Mocs to play from behind for most of the game. A better start and better perimeter defense by UTC could have given Burrows' team a chance for a big SoCon win at home.
Turning point
After UTC battled back to take a one-point lead with seven minutes to play, Samford slammed the door with a big 3 by Cournoyer followed quickly by Armstrong's layup to give the visitors a 55-51 lead. The Mocs never got closer than three points and only made one shot from the field in the final quarter.
Quotable
"It was tough. I think some of it might have been we got tired. I think they picked up their energy a little more than us, and once they made that run instead of fighting back and punching back, we got back on our heels a little bit." - Cornelius on the fourth-quarter struggles
"I felt like people were trying to take it on individually a little bit, and we can't do that. That's the time when we've got to stick together and trust the process even more. It's all well intended, but we can't have people starting to play like individuals. The bottom line is we got ourselves in a deep hole in that first quarter. We've just not been a team that digs ourselves out of holes well. We've just got to have a better start." - Burrows
Contact Jim Tanner at sports@timesfreepress.com.