JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- Shanara Hollinquest sank a pair of free throws with four seconds to play in the game to lead the Lady Mocs to a 70-69 win over former Southern Conference rival East Tennessee State Tuesday night at the Memorial Center.
Hollinquest led Chattanooga (3-1) with a career-high 17 points shooting 70 percent from the floor on 7-of-10. However, she struggled at the free throw line. Before stepping up to the stripe with UTC trailing by a point, the sophomore forward was 1-for-4.
Chattanooga's 11-point halftime lead disappeared in 1:36 at the start of the second half as the Lady Bucs (1-3) went on an 11-point run. Michelle DeVault hit back-to-back 3-pointers followed by a jumper from TaRonda Wiles to get ETSU within three to start the period. Sierra Evans capped it off with a trey to even it up 37-37.
After a layup from Alex Anderson, her first of the game, Evans sank another three to give the Lady Bucs the lead for the first time since midway through the first half. The two teams would lock in a struggle with the score tying six more times before the Laura Hall and Tagan Hatchett combined for a pair of 3-pointers to take a 53-47 lead with 10:48 to play.
East Tennessee would continue to pound away and neither team would get any further ahead than three points. Wiles sank the first of two free throws with 1:28 to play to tie the score at 68-69, then hit the next to put the Bucs up by one.
Both teams combined to miss three shots before Latisha Belcher committed her fifth foul of the game to put Hollinquest at the line. After taking a deep breath, she hit the first to tie the game for the 11th time then hit the next with 4.1 seconds on the clock. A last second try by Evans at half court failed and the Lady Mocs came away with the win.
Spann was the only other UTC player in double figures with 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Anderson had seven points and six boards. Laura Hall and Tagan Hatchett each tossed in nine points. Hall had three steals in the game and four assists. Jenaya Wade-Fray, playing a career-high 36 minutes, scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds.
ETSU outscored the Lady Mocs 43-33 in the second half shooting 59.3 percent from the floor and struggled from the free throw line as well, making just 7-of-13 in the latter period. Kelly Turman led four Bucs in double digit scoring with 21 points. DeVault had 17, Wiles scored 11 in the contest while Evan had 10. DeVault, Evans and Belcher each had six rebounds.
The last time the two teams met was in Maclellan Gym in the second round of the Southern Conference tournament. ETSU edged the Lady Mocs 55-50, ending Chattanooga's SoCon tournament run at four.
The Lady Mocs will host Murray State, Delaware and Louisville this Friday and Saturday in the Panera Bread Challenge at the McKenzie Arena. The Cardinals and Fightin' Blue Hens will square off at 5 p.m. followed by the Lady Mocs and the Racers at 7 p.m. The consolation game will start at 5 p.m. on Saturday followed immediately by the championships game. Tickets are available at the McKenzie Arena box office or online at the official website of Chattanooga athletics, www.GoMocs.com.
