BOX SCORE AND PLAY-BY-PLAY
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Chattanooga forwards Shanara Hollinquest and Erin Ogan each posted double-doubles to lead the Lady Mocs to their fourth Southern Conference win of the season and 26th consecutive.
The Lady Mocs got out to a slow start and went just 11-for-30 in the first half and carried a four-point lead into halftime at 31-27.
“I think in the first half we were a little too in love with the 3-point attempts,” Lady Mocs head coach Wes Moore said. “At halftime we made sure we refocused on going inside and getting the ball to Shanara. Making sure she had some touches before we jacked it up.”
The Lady Mocs were 4-of-18 from the perimeter in the first half, but settled down in the second making 5-of-11 for nine in the game on 29 attempts. Chattanooga also got more shots to fall from elsewhere on the floor in the second half and put 39 points on the board making 15-of-33.
“We wanted to come out with a lot of energy and take control of the game, but that didn't happen,” Hollinquest said. “I think we became comfortable in the second half.”
Hollinquest made a layup to start the second half, but Chattanooga didn't score again for nearly three minutes and allowed Elon to get within two points at 33-31 on a layup from Courtney Medley. However, Hollinquest would turn on the offense to get the lead back up to seven points on a pair of layups and a free throw.
While Chattanooga's offense seemed to move into a higher gear in the second half, the Lady Mocs defense held the Phoenix to 24 points. The two teams each grabbed 18 rebound in the first half, but UTC outdid Elon 27-19 off the glass in the latter stanza.
“I thought our defense saved us tonight,” Moore said. “We went zone a couple of possessions [to start the second half] and played a little softer defense to keep them in front of us and I thought that worked well.
The Lady Mocs continued to push the advantage in the second half and steadily built its lead to double digits. LaCondra Mason hit a layup with 8:04 to play to spark a 13-0 run that was capped off by a 3-pointer from Tagan Hatchet with 4:49 to play to give Chattanooga a 62-40 lead.
Hollinquest led all scorers with 20 points and 12 rebounds, her third of the year, while Ogan had 13 points with 11 boards for her second double-double this year. Chattanooga improves to 7-4 overall and 4-0 in league action while the Phoenix fall to 1-9 overall and 0-4 in SoCon play.
Hatchett matched her season high with 10 points on the night with a pair of 3-pointers and three assists. Tenisha Townsend, with a pair of second half 3-pointers, had eight points in the win with three assists.
Chattanooga had 45 rebounds on the night to Elon's 37 and got 17 points from the bench compared to the Phoenix's five.
The Lady Mocs will travel to Cancun, Mexico for the Caribbean Classic this weekend. Chattanooga will face San Francisco at 2 p.m. Eastern time Friday, Dec. 19 and Missouri State on Saturday at 4:30. All games can be heard live on the radio at WDOD 1310-AM or free online at the official website of Chattanooga athletics, GoMocs.com.
