CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (December 9, 2023) – The University of North Alabama Women's Basketball team fell to the Chattanooga Mocs on Saturday afternoon, dropping a hard-fought battle in Tennessee, 68-65.
An entertaining affair from start to finish, the Lions overcame a slow start to make it a competitive game in the second half. The Lions eventually took the lead with 4:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, 58-57, but Chattanooga led last and hit a go-ahead layup and free throws in the final 23 seconds to win by three.
North Alabama drops to 3-6 on the season, while Chattanooga moves to an impressive 9-1 record and extends its win streak to seven games. UNA also drops its first game to a team from the state of Tennessee after going 3-0 in previous games against the state this season.
The leading scorer for the Lions was senior guard Alexis Callins, racking up 18 points on 6-14 shooting and hitting four threes. She also contributed three rebounds, two blocks, a steal and an assist.
Two Lions also finished in double figures, with freshman guard Veronaye Charlton and sophomore guard Alyssa Clutter tallying 15 points each. Senior guard Sara Wohlgemuth finished with a near double-double, registering eight rebounds and seven assists while playing every minute of the game.
The game also marked the debut of graduate forward Allie Craig Cruce, who opened her season with nine minutes of action for the Lions. The transfer from Alabama finished with eight points with two made threes, also contributing two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER: The Mocs got things started slow and steady, hitting two free throws to open the scoring. Both teams exchanged a turnover apiece before Callins opened the scoring for UNA with a three. UTC went on a 6-0 run to lead into the media timeout. An ensuing Chattanooga score saw the Lions pick up the offensive production, with freshman guard Katie Criswell's bank shot layup and Clutter hitting a jumper. Callins' two free throws with 44 seconds left saw the quarter out with UTC on top, 16-9.
SECOND QUARTER: A fast start for both teams saw each squad score on their first four possessions of the quarter. Callins scored eight of the of the Lions' first 10 points in the quarter, leading to a UTC timeout with the score at 24-19 Mocs. The Mocs would score first out of the timeout, but North Alabama continued their hot scoring with Clutter hitting a layup and Cruce opening her Lions' career with a three. Three scores from UTC extended the lead to double digits, but Charlton's layup concluded the second quarter scoring — UNA down 36-28.
THIRD QUARTER: The defenses from both squads set the tone to begin the third quarter, but at the 8:11 mark, Chattanooga hit a layup to begin the scoring. UNA got on the board in the period after a little over three minutes of play, with Clutter hitting a pull-up jumper. Callins would make two plays — one on the offensive and defensive — with a block and three pointer two possessions later. Despite a Mocs layup on the next UTC possession, Charlton hit her first three of the game before the media timeout. Chattanooga finished the quarter outscoring North Alabama 6-5 in the final two minutes with the final quarter looming — UTC up 53-45.
FOURTH QUARTER: It was all UNA early in the fourth, coming out hot with a quick 8-0 run thanks to Charlton's opening layup and a three and layup from Cruce. The UTC lead now one point, the Mocs had their first score on the ensuing possession and followed with another almost two minutes later. After the last media timeout of the game, the Lions' offense picked right back up with another 8-0 run to take the lead for the first time since the first quarter. Charlton had the go-ahead jumper and Wohlgemuth ended the run with two freebies to make it 60-57. Chattanooga ended their nearly three-minute scoring drought with a pull-up jumper, as both teams continued to battle down the stretch. With under two minutes left, Charlton's two free throws put UNA back up 65-64, but the Mocs would get the go-ahead score from Caia Elisaldez. The Lions had a chance to take the lead back with under 10 seconds to go, but a Cruce layup was off the mark and tipped out to Karsen Murphy. The Mocs hit two more layups and smothered UNA's final attempt to tie at the buzzer from half court.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
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6 – The Lions' defense was the more assertive in the paint, sending back six shots. It marked UNA's highest block total in a game this season, with Katie Criswell (4) and Alexis Callins (2) leading the way. UTC only had one block.
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40 – The amount of minutes Sara Wohlgemuth played in the game against the Mocs. The senior from Madison, Conn. displayed her leadership with the first complete game from a UNA player this season, dishing out seven assists and grabbing eight rebounds in the performance.
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8 – The debut of Allie Craig Cruce was a solid one, showing flashes of what is to come for the rest of the season. In nine minutes of action, Cruce scored eight points on 3-7 shooting with the Killen, Ala. native also hitting two threes in the outing. She tallied one steal and one rebound to round out her UNA debut.
COMING UP NEXT
UNA Women's Basketball travels to Jonesboro, Ark. for the next outing, facing off against Arkansas State on Thursday, Dec. 14. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. This will be the only game next week for the Lions.
Fans are also encouraged to mark their calendars for Thursday, Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. as the Lions host Tennessee Tech inside CB&S Bank Arena. Tickets are available at this link.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
