BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Chattanooga women's basketball team fell 74-52 to Southern Conference foe Samford Monday night at the Pete Hanna Center in the conference opener for both teams.
The Bulldogs got out to a quick 4-0 start, but the Lady Mocs rebounded to take a 6-2 lead over the next 1:54, but that would be their only one. Samford roared back to take the lead and never let up dropping Chattanooga to 2-5 overall and 0-1 in SoCon action. The Bulldogs, riding a two-game win streak, improves to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.
Samford tied it up for the second time of the game on a lay-in from Monica Maxwell and retook the lead on a 3-pointer from Hannah Dawson. UTC's Jenaya Wade-Fray cut the lead to 9-8 with 15:51 to go in the first half, but the Bulldogs pulled back out front, stretching the lead to as much as seven, 17-10, before the Lady Mocs climbed back into the game.
Kayla Christopher hit a lay-up at the 9:40 mark of the first half, capping an 8-2 run, to cut the lead to 19-18, but it would get no closer for the defending SoCon champs who defeated the Bulldogs on their own home court in the season-finale to claim a 10th consecutive SoCon crown.
Samford went on a 12-2 run over the next six-and-a-half minutes to put the lead into double digits for the first time getting out front 31-20 with 3:10 to go in the half. By halftime that lead would be 14 as the Bulldogs went into halftime with a 40-26 lead.
The second half started with a 13-4 run by Samford to stretch the lead to 53-30 with 15:13 to play in the game. Samford would lead by as much as 24 points in the game and the Lady Mocs could only get as close as 16 over the final minutes.
Samford's Maxwell led all scorers with a career-high 22 points going 7-for-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. She was 4-for-4 from the free throw line and had a game-high tying seven rebounds. Emily London had 12 points for the Bulldogs with a pair of 3-pointers and Savannah Hill, the third Samford player in double figures, had 11 points, three boards, five assists and two steals.
Chattanooga senior Shanara Hollinquest (Sylacauga, Ala.) led the Lady Mocs with 17 points, her seventh double digit performance of the year, and two steals. She moved to 11th place all-time on the Lady Mocs scoring charts with 1,279 passing Jennifer Wilson (1,271) and Lisa Porter (1,278). Freshman Erin Helton (Cookeville, Tenn.), playing 14 minutes, added seven points with five rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Lady Mocs outrebounded the Bulldogs 34-33 with 13 offensive boards and went 6-for-27 from beyond the arc. Chattanooga was 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. Samford was 10-for-22 from the 3-point line and a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line.
The Lady Mocs, who begin final exams this week, will remain in SoCon play hosting Furman Saturday, Dec. 5 in the first game of a double-header. Tip is at 5 p.m. at the McKenzie Arena. Live stats, video streaming and audio will be available at GoMocs.com. Larry Ward, "the Voice of the Lady Mocs" will have all the action live on ESPN Radio 105.1 FM The Zone.
Call the McKenzie Arena box office for tickets or log onto the official website of Chattanooga athletics, GoMocs.com.
