CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Junior Shanara Hollinquest outscored Samford 6-0 in the final 3:33 of the game to give the Lady Mocs their 23rd consecutive Southern Conference win as they welcomed Samford to the league Monday night at the Roundhouse.
With the Lady Mocs trailing by five with 3:33 to play, Hollinquest put in three layups to give Chattanooga a 55-54 win. Samford moves to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in league action while the Lady Mocs even their record at 3-3 and are 1-0 in the SoCon.
Hollinquest scored a season-high 26 points with 18 coming in the first half alone. She went 10-for-18 on the night and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Junior Jenaya Wade-Fray tallied her first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. She matched her season-high for points and her career-best for rebounds while dishing out a career-high seven assists.
In the first half, the Lady Mocs seemed to have control of the game shooting 51.9 percent and leading 37-27 at the break. However, the second half was a polar opposite to the first with Samford outscoring Chattanooga 27-18 and the Lady Mocs mustering just 7-of-25 shots for a dismal 28 percent from the floor.
After Chattanooga notched its largest lead of the game at 42-29, the Bulldogs went on a 23-5 run that was bookended by Emily London's pair of free throws at the 18:07 mark and a 3-pointer with 4:19 to play. Samford led 52-47 with 4:19 to play, but the Lady Mocs got back into the game and held off the Bulldogs to win the league opener.
Samford had three players in double figures with Monica Maxwell leading the charge with 13 points and five boards. London and Savannah Hill each chipped in 10 points while Karmen Smith had nine points, all from the first half.
Chattanooga junior Tagan Hatchett, starting at point guard for the first time this year, had a career-best six rebounds. The Lady Mocs did not get any production out of its bench this game with all scoring coming from just the five starters.
The Lady Mocs will host Alabama A&M Saturday, Dec. 6 at the McKenzie Arena. The game will tip at 7 p.m. Samford will travel to Spartanburg, S.C., to take on Wofford at 6 p.m.
