BOX SCORE
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Senior guard Laura Hall (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) scored a game-high 18 points and senior forward Alex Anderson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) netted her 10th double-double of the season as Chattanooga (26-3, 18-0) defeated Western Carolina (23-7, 15-3) 72-66 Thursday evening in Southern Conference action at the McKenzie Arena. The Lady Mocs closed out the regular season with its third undefeated conference season in five years.
With the Lady Mocs leading 62-48 with 6:28 remaining in the game, Western Carolina mounted a fierce rally outscoring Chattanooga 18-6 over the next 5:53 behind eight points, including two three-pointers, from freshman forward Emily Clarke to close the gap to two points at 68-66 with 35 seconds to play. That would be as close as they would get as Chattanooga's LaCondra Mason and Jenaya Wade-Fray combined on a 4-for-4 performance down the stretch at the foul line to close out the 72-66 victory.
In the first half, after being held scoreless for nearly the first five minutes of the game, Chattanooga rebounded to tie the game at 6-6 before the Lady Cats went on a 9-2 run to take a 15-8 lead with 11:15 to play in the first half. Then the Lady Mocs came to life, using strong defense and a multi-faceted offense to put together a dominating 21-3 run over the next 7:38 to power out to a 29-18 lead with 3:37 to play in the half. Chattanooga then maintained its double-digit lead and headed into the break with a 38-28 advantage.
In the second half, the Lady Mocs quickly extended their lead to 46-33 with less than four minutes into the second stanza before pushing that advantage to 55-41 with 9:49 remaining in the game. From there, Chattanooga would maintain at least a ten point lead until Western Carolina made their charge with 6:28 to play.
Clarke paced three Catamounts in double-digits as she finished with a team-high 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and was joined by senior guard Ashley Pellom who totaled 13 points on the night. Senior guard Monique Dawson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and added four rebounds and three steals.
Hall led the way for Chattanooga with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting and pulled down six rebounds while Anderson had 17 points and 10 rebounds. She added a game-high three blocked shots and game-high tying three steals. Sophomore guard Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) chipped in with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting and connected on all five of her free throws along with pulling down five rebounds. Junior forward Erin Ogan (Knoxville, Tenn.) added nine points on 3-of-4 shooting.
As a team, Chattanooga shot 88.9 percent from the foul line while the Catamounts connected on only 64.3 percent of their tries for the game.
The Lady Mocs honored its five seniors prior to the start of the game. Chattanooga said goodbye to Alex Anderson, Laura Hall, Brooke Hand, Amy Mohr and Kristen Spann. This quintet of players were instrumental in two undefeated SoCon seasons, two win streaks over 20 games, two Southern Conference tournament champoinships, two NCAA tournament berths, one WNIT bid and running the Lady Mocs streak of conference championships to nine consecutive.
The Lady Mocs return to action on March 7 when they take the floor at the North Charleston Coliseum as the No. 1 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament.
NOTES
? Anderson's 10th double-double of the season
? Senior Night for Alex Anderson, Laura Hall, Brooke Hand, Amy Mohr and Kristen Spann.
? Anderson topped the 500-point mark for the season (512).
? Laura Hall topped the 900-point mark for her career (908).
Before tonight's contest, the Chattanooga women's basketball program said thank you to five talented seniors who have been instrumental to the Lady Mocs' success. In the last four years, this group has posted an overall record of 102 wins and 20 losses and a Southern Conference record of 69 wins and just four losses. Over that time, the Lady Mocs have won two Southern Conference tournaments, earned two NCAA Tournament berths, a bid to the Women's NIT and just this season claimed their ninth consecutive Southern Conference regular season title.
Miss Kristen Spann
Kristen has played in 115 games for Chattanooga. She has 401 career points and nearly 300 rebounds. A threat both on the inside and on the perimeter, she has 44 career 3-pointers, making 35 percent of her long range shots. Last year, she had career games for scoring against Georgia Southern and Wofford, and as a freshman went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in her collegiate debut when the Lady Mocs hosted the University of Tennessee Lady Vols. She is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and has been named to the Southern Conference All-Academic Team, UTC's Athletics Director's Honor Roll and Dean's List.
She was escorted by her parents Anita and Johnny Spann. From Lawrence County High School in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, Number 32, Kristen Spann
Miss Amy Mohr
Amy has played in 111 games for the Lady Mocs and played a career-high 35 minutes against the College of Charleston this year in her first career start. She has 103 career assists and nearly 200 career points as a reserve point guard. She had career scoring games against Furman and the College of Charleston and had a career-best seven assists last season against Austin Peay. Since arriving at UTC, Amy has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA and was awarded the Dayle May Academic Award for the senior student-athlete with the highest GPA. She has been on the Dean's List, the UTC Athletics Director's Honor Roll and the Southern Conference All-Academic Team every single semester. She is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. Amy will graduate in May with a degree in Biology and plans to attend the University of Georgia to earn her Masters degree in Science Education.
She was escorted by her parents Teri and Bill Mohr. From Forsyth Central High School in Cumming, Georgia, Number 14, Amy Mohr
Miss Brooke Hand
Brooke Hand has started 64 of 122 games for the Lady Mocs at guard. This year in San Antonio, Brooke became the 22nd member of the Lady Mocs' 1,000-Point Club and is currently ranked 16th with 1,156 points. On Feb. 18 against Wofford, Brooke became the most prolific 3-point shooter ? male or female ? in Southern Conference history, topping the 300-mark. Last season, she made a Chattanooga and Southern Conference single-season record 90 three-pointers and leads the league this year with 72. She was named All-Freshman by the league coaches, is a two-time Southern Conference Player of the Week honoree and was named Player of the Month last year when she broke the women's 3-point mark in February. She was named All-Conference last season and named to the All-Tournament team.
She has been selected to the Southern Conference All-Academic Team, UTC's Athletics Director's Honor Roll and the Dean's List. She was escorted by her parents Michelle and Mike Hand and her fiance Chris Long. From Lawrence Country High School in Moulton, Alabama, Number 12, Brooke Hand
Miss Laura Hall
Laura Hall has been the starting point guard for the Lady Mocs since her freshman year, starting 116 of 119 games. She has scored 890 points over her career and is ranked sixth all-time at UTC with 414 career assists. Last season she became the first person in nearly four years to record a double-double for points and assists at UTC. Laura is ranked seventh all-time at Chattanooga for 3-pointers made with 133 and made a career-high six in one game as a sophomore. She was named all-conference, all-tournament last season and was a member of the Southern Conference All-Freshman team. This season, Laura leads the league with 110 assists and has the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Southern Conference at 1.75.
She has been selected to the Southern Conference All-Academic Team, UTC's Athletics Director's Honor Roll and the Dean's List. She was escorted by her parents Janie and Johnny Hall. From Oliver Springs High School in Oliver Springs, Tennessee, Number 10, Laura Hall
Miss Alex Anderson
Alex Anderson has started 92 of 122 games. Last year she became the 21st member of the Lady Mocs 1,000 point club and has moved into fifth place with 1,657 points. As a junior, she set the Chattanooga Division I-era scoring record with 677 points and has tallied 36 career double-doubles. Alex is ranked third at UTC for rebounds with 963 boards and holds the school career blocked shots record with 214 and single season mark with 63. Last season, Alex became just the third player in Southern Conference history, and the second from Chattanooga, to be named both the league Player of the Year and Tournament MVP in the same season. She has been named SoCon Player of the Week 15 times, six in each of the last two seasons and is a seven-time SoCon Player of the Month. She has twice been named All-Conference and is a two-time member of the Southern Conference all-tournament team. This season, she leads the league in scoring and blocked shots and is ranked second in rebounding. Last summer, Alex earned an invitation to the USA Basketball and Pan-Am Games tryouts at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado.
She has been selected to the Southern Conference All-Academic Team, UTC's Athletics Director's Honor Roll and the Dean's List. She was escorted by her father Willie Anderson, her mother Timber Harris and her grandmother Quovadis Nelson and her grandfather Robert Harris. From Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Number 40, Alex Anderson
