THIRD TIMES A CHARM; LADY MOCS WIN SOCON TITLE!!!

3/2/2007 7:00:00 PM | By: GoMocs.com

CHARLESTON, S.C. -– Back-to-back three's from Brooke Hand and Laura Hall led the Chattanooga women's basketball team past Western Carolina 84-66 Saturday afternoon at the North Charleston Coliseum to claim back-to-back Southern Conference tournament titles.

"Our confidence this year is the strongest it's ever been," Lady Mocs' head coach Wes Moore said. "I think Western is tough enough to get considerations (from the NCAA), but it's also tough being a Mid-Major."

With 5:45 to play in the game, WCU's Lauren Powell sank a 3-pointer to knot the game up for the sixth time in the closely played game at 62-62. Hand, standing well behind the line, hit her 87th 3-pointer of the season to put Chattanooga out front for good 65-62 and tie the league mark for treys in a season. Hall followed with her third 3-pointer of the game and the Lady Mocs never looked back.

“I felt bad that I gave up a 3-pointer to her (Powell),” Hand said. “I felt like I had to get one back.”

Chattanooga went on a 17-0 run and outscored Western 22-4 over the final minutes of the game to claim its 11th SoCon tournament title since 1984.

SoCon Tournament Most Valuable Player Alex Anderson led four Lady Mocs in double-figures with 30 points to become the single-season scoring leader at UTC with 661 points.

“Alex's year is the reason we're here,” Lady Mocs Head Coach Wes Moore said. “We run our offense through her and she gives us great opportunities.”

Anderson became just the third person in league history to be named both the Tournament MVP and regular season Player of the Year.

Down the stretch, the Lady Mocs went 14-17 from the free throw line as the Catamounts piled on the fouls looking to slow the pace of play. WCU went 0-for-8 with just a pair of charity tosses after the Lady Mocs took the lead on Hand's trey.

The game was tight throughout with the Catamounts jumping out to an opening 7-0 lead. Anderson hit back-to-back layups to put UTC on the board, sparking an 11-0 run capped off with a layup from Hall giving Chattanooga an 11-10 lead at the 13:53 mark.

The scored bounced back and forth for the remainder of the half with three ties before the Lady Mocs got out front going up by as much as five three times in the half. Western's Brooke Johnson hit a layup at the end of the half to cut the UTC lead to 38-36 at the break.

The game would knot up three times in the second half before Chattanooga would begin its final push.

Hall knocked down three treys and dished out four assists with two steals in her 36 minutes on the floor, scoring 18 points in the game. Hand was 3-for-4 from 3-point land and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line and three assists for 15 points.

Freshman Shanara Hollinquest saw more significant playing time with 23 minutes and was the fourth UTC player in double-digits with 14 points and seven rebounds. She dished out two assists and was 5-for-7 from the floor. Anderson was 13-of-18 for 30 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

The Catamounts won both games against the Lady Mocs in the regular season and the two tied for the league crown with identical 15-3 records. But Chattanooga would not be denied the third time.

Anderson and Hand were each named to the All-Tournament First Team while Hall and Hollinquest were each selected to the Second Team.

The Lady Mocs received the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will discover its fate Monday, March 12 when the NCAA announces the tournament bracket. It will air at 8 p.m. on ESPNHD. Stay tuned for information on the selection show party.

The first and second rounds will run March 17 and 19 and will be held in Austin, Texas, Minneapolis, Minn., Stanford, Calif., and Los Angeles. The first and second rounds on March 18 and 20 will be held in East Lansing, Mich., Hartford, Conn., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Raleigh, N.C.

Individual Tournament Records:
Three-Point Field Goals Made: Brooke Hand, 12
Three-Point Field Goal Attempts: Brooke Hand 21

Team Tournament Records:
Most 3-Point Field Goals: Chattanooga, 25
Most 3-Point Field Goals Attempted: Chattanooga, 69

Southern Conference All-Tournament Team
First Team
Alex Anderson , Chattanooga
Brooke Hand, Chattanooga
Brooke Johnson, Western Carolina
Chevon Keith, Western Carolina
Tiffany Brown, Georgia Southern

Second Team
Laura Hall, Chattanooga
Shanara Hollinquest, Chattanooga
Ashley Pellom, Western Carolina
Kristen Boone, UNC Greensboro
Whitney Tossie, Appalachian State

Most Valuable Player
Alex Anderson, Chattanooga

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