SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Brooke Hand led four Chattanooga players in double-figures with 14 points and became the 22nd member of the Lady Mocs' 1,000 Point Club as UTC drilled Weber State 79-46 on day one of the UTSA Wells Fargo New Year's Classic.
It was only fitting that Hand's 1,001st point would come on a 3-point shot. The Southern Conference leader drained a trey from the left side then hit another two minutes later to move to 20th on Chattanooga's all-time list. She had a game-high tying 14 points for UTC, making 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
Weber State started the game with four points and last led 10-9 with 8:25 gone in the game. It would be 6:18 before the Wildcats would score again and the Lady Mocs opened their lead to 23-12 with 5:17 to play in the first half. Weber State scored just seven more points as Chattanooga opened its lead 20 points with a 39-19 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Lady Mocs continued to pour it in, outscoring the Wildcats 40-27 shooting 58.6 percent from the floor and went 51.7 percent overall. Chattanooga was 11-for-23 from the 3-point line and 31-of-60 from the floor. Free throw struggles continued for UTC who made just 6-of-13.
Laura Hall had 12 points for the Lady Mocs with a pair of 3-pointers and had four assists. Shanara Hollinquest also dished out four assists and tallied 10 points and seven rebounds while Erin Ogan, with a pair of treys, scored 10 points for Chattanooga and grabbed five boards.
Kristen Spann just missed a double-digit performance with nine points and Jenaya Wade-Fray had eight points. Amy Mohr had a team-high five assists for Chattanooga, while Alex Anderson, who was held to just six points, grabbed seven rebounds and four steals.
The Wildcats were led in scoring by Sara Tuomi with a game-high tying 14 points and six rebounds while Ahkiah Hunter scored nine points had seven rebounds and seven assists. Weber State went 20-for-57 (.351) from the floor with a trio of 3-pointers and were 3-for-9 from the free throw line.
Chattanooga won the rebounding battle 43-31 and scored 21 points off 17 Wildcat turnovers. The Lady Mocs outscored Weber State in the paint 36-20 and it's bench scored 29 points to the Cats 15.
The Lady Mocs improve to 9-3 overall and will take on Miami (Ohio) Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. Weber State (6-5) will face host Texas-San Antonio in the nightcap. All games can be heard live on the flagship station of the Lady Mocs WDOD-AM 1310 or online around the world at www.GoMocs.com. Check the GameDay Central or click the link on the schedule.
