Chattanooga Traps McMiller, but Florida Women Hold Off Mocs 64-58

Chattanooga built its plan around slowing Kiyomi McMiller, and for three quarters it worked. Florida still left McKenzie Arena with a 64-58 women's basketball win on Sunday. Vivian Iwuchukwu scored 14 of her game-high 19 points after halftime, and the Gators won the fourth quarter 23-18.

A crowd of 3,335 watched the Mocs (1-2) push an SEC team into the final seconds. It was the biggest home crowd of head coach Deandra Schirmer's tenure and the program's largest home crowd since Feb. 17, 2018, according to Chattanooga Athletics. Florida improved to 3-0.

How Chattanooga slowed McMiller

McMiller arrived as the nation's leading scorer, three days after the 42-point night against UCF that framed our Florida at Chattanooga preview. The Mocs sent extra defenders at her and held her to five points in the first half. She finished with 16 points on 4-of-15 shooting, missed all four of her 3-point tries and made 8 of 11 free throws.

Florida head coach Tammi Reiss expected that. "Coming into this game I knew they were going to double Kiy, trap her, and Vanessa as well, most of our aggressive, scoring guards," Reiss said in Florida Athletics postgame comments.

The pressure kept the game tight all afternoon. Florida shot 8 of 27 in the first half and made 2 of 10 from 3-point range. Each of the first three quarters was decided by one point, and the game had 15 lead changes and eight ties.

The Mocs' best stretches

Izzy McPherson scored on Chattanooga's first possession and carried the offense early. The junior's 3-pointer tied the game at 14 early in the second quarter. Freshman Lydia Ledford then hit a jumper for a 16-14 lead, Chattanooga's first since the opening minutes.

McPherson and Ledford hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the half, and the Mocs led 24-19 with 1:29 left. That was their largest lead of the day. Jade Weathersby answered with two free throws and a 3-pointer, and the teams went to halftime tied 24-24.

Gabbie Grooms scored Chattanooga's first four points of the third quarter, and her layup put the Mocs ahead 28-27. Florida answered with a stretch of layups and free throws and led 38-32 after McMiller's three-point play midway through the quarter. The Mocs climbed back. Ledford's steal set up a Grooms 3-pointer, and London Weaver's two free throws gave Chattanooga a 40-39 lead with 55 seconds left in the period. Iwuchukwu made two free throws, and Florida took a 41-40 lead into the fourth.

How Florida pulled away

Moriah Murray opened the fourth with a 3-pointer, and McMiller followed with a layup for a 46-40 lead. Florida made 8 of 17 shots in the quarter and all six of its free throws. Chattanooga made 8 of 27.

The Mocs kept answering for a while. TaTianna Stovall scored on a layup, and McPherson's three-point play cut the deficit to 54-51 with 5:24 left. Chattanooga then went 3:41 without a point. Aurora Almón made two free throws, McMiller hit a jumper and Vanessa Harris added another for a 60-51 lead, Florida's biggest of the day.

Schirmer pointed to that quarter. "From a coaching standpoint, we weren't disciplined enough in the fourth quarter of the game. And I feel like giving up 23 points in the fourth quarter really allowed Florida to seal the game," she said in Chattanooga Athletics postgame comments.

Chattanooga made one more push. After McMiller's free throws made it 62-53, Stovall hit a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left. McPherson then came up with a steal, and freshman Aaliyah Story tipped in a miss to cut the lead to 62-58 with 18 seconds left. Story stole the ball on Florida's next possession, but Ava Card's jumper missed, and McMiller sealed the game with two free throws with four seconds left.

The free throw line decided it. Chattanooga made 22 field goals to Florida's 21 and hit five 3-pointers to Florida's three. Florida made 19 of 28 free throws, while the Mocs made 9 of 16. The Gators also had a 17-7 edge in fast-break points and 10 steals to Chattanooga's four.

Chattanooga's standouts

McPherson led the Mocs with a season-high 15 points. She made 5 of 15 shots and was the only Moc with two 3-pointers. Grooms and Stovall added 11 points each. It was Grooms' first double-figure game as a Moc, according to Chattanooga Athletics, and Stovall has scored in double figures in all three games of her Chattanooga career.

Ledford scored nine points off the bench and grabbed seven rebounds. Card pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. Both rebound totals were career highs, according to Chattanooga Athletics. The Mocs grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, scored 15 points off Florida's 13 turnovers and committed only 11 turnovers themselves, down from 19 at Western Kentucky.

Shooting held them back. Chattanooga made 22 of 67 shots (32.8%) and 5 of 21 from 3-point range. Senior guard Sarah Owona made 1 of 10 shots.

The crowd and the series

Schirmer credited the crowd. "The atmosphere around the Roundhouse was unbelievable," she said in the same postgame comments.

A year ago, Florida beat the Mocs 94-52 in Gainesville. Florida now leads the all-time series 4-3 and has won the last two meetings. Sunday's game was Florida's first in Chattanooga since a 72-61 win there in November 2016.

Florida's standouts

Iwuchukwu made 7 of 8 shots and 5 of 8 free throws to go with four assists. McMiller added six rebounds and six assists to her 16 points. Weathersby came off the bench for nine points and 12 rebounds, and Harris had five steals.

What's next

Chattanooga plays at Northern Kentucky on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 11 a.m. ET at Truist Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky. The game streams on ESPN+. The Mocs return to McKenzie Arena on Sunday, Nov. 15, against Lipscomb at 2 p.m. ET.

Florida hosts South Florida in Gainesville on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.