Led by Dena Jarrells' hot shooting, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga jumped out to a 26-point halftime lead before cruising to an 85-65 victory over UNC Greensboro on Saturday afternoon at McKenzie Arena.
Jarrells finished with a career-high 23 points, with 21 of those coming in the first 20 minutes as the 5-foot-7 sophomore guard from West Virginia nearly outscored the visitors by herself. The Mocs (6-14, 4-1 Southern Conference), who never trailed, led 48-22 at halftime to set in motion their rout of the Spartans (5-12, 1-3) and push their winning streak to four games.
For the game, Jarrells was 7-for-8 from the field, including 5-for-5 from 3-point range, and made all four of her free throws. She reached double digits in points for the first time since scoring 19 against UNC Asheville on Dec. 20, having shot a combined 10-of-33 (4-for-19 from 3-point range) for 26 points in her past four games to start league play before Saturday.
After her good showing at UNC Asheville, Jarrells was out the next two games, road losses to Tennessee and Jacksonville State that completed the nonconference schedule.
"Since COVID, she kind of got out of rhythm, and we just haven't been able to see her find that rhythm," UTC coach Katie Burrows said. "I think she just finally determined that she was going to do what she needed to do in order to get back on track for us. She didn't get the looks in the second half, which was smart on their part because they needed to guard her."
Jarrells also tied a career high with eight assists to help a balanced attack for UTC, which shot 64% from the field and was 9-for-15 from 3-point range. It was only the second time the Mocs made at least half of their shots from the field this season.
Their 21 assists were also a season high.
Amaria Pugh added 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, Abbey Cornelius had 14 points and four assists, Sigrun Olafsdottir scored 13 points - setting a career high with a trio of 3s - and Brooke Hampel chipped in nine. Jarrells had a game-high four steals.
The Mocs are on the road for their next two games, visiting Wofford (8-10, 3-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday and Furman at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Compiled by Gene Henley. Contact him at ghenley@times freepress.com.