CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team picked up a big 69-56 non-conference win against Clemson Saturday night. Senior Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) scored a career-high 27 points to help the Lady Mocs even their season record at 5-5. Clemson falls to 6-4 on the year.
The Lady Mocs jumped out to a 15-6 lead on a lay-up by senior Shanara Hollinquest (Sylacuaga, Ala.) at the 15 minute mark. UTC hit six of their first nine attempts from the floor, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Chattanooga would only make four of their next 23 attempts from the field in the first half.
For the second straight game, Hollinquest had to deal with first half foul trouble. She went to the bench with her second foul at the 7:39 mark and UTC leading 21-13. With the team's leading scorer out, Chattanooga only managed one more field goal the rest of the first half.
Clemson used a 7-0 spurt, capped by Kirstyn Wright's layup with 4:51 left, to cut the deficit to 21-20. UTC's strong defense kept them in the lead. The Lady Mocs held Clemson to just 30.8% from the field and forced 10 turnovers in the first to take a 24-20 advantage at the break.
Clemson tried to chip away at the lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Wade-Fray kept UTC on top with aggressively driving to the basket. She made three layups in the half-court set and sank two free throws to give the Lady Mocs a 34-29 lead with 13:36 left in the game.
Wade-Fray sparked another run with a step-back 3-pointer to put UTC up 42-31 at the 10:32 mark. She hit another one a minute later to give the Lady Mocs a 45-33 advantage. Freshman Michelle Davis (Cleveland, Tenn.) made it three-in-a-row from deep to extend the lead to 48-34 with nine minutes left.
Every time Clemson made a run, Wade-Fray hit a big shot for the Lady Mocs. The Tigers' Bryelle Smith cut the lead to eight 48-40 at 7:14 with a 3-pointer from the corner. Wade-Fray answered with a 3-pointer of her own to put UTC back up 51-40 with just under seven minutes left.
Smith again cut the lead to six 51-45 on another three with five minute left in the game. Wade-Fray came right back and got the shooter's roll from the corner to give the Lady Mocs a 54-45 lead with 4:45 left.
Chattanooga was able to ice the game from the foul line, hitting 13 of 14 from the charity stripe in the last four minutes of the game.
Wade-Fray, with just five first-half points, shot 9-of-18 from the floor, 5-of-11 from 3-point range and was 4-for-4 from the free throw line. She now has 173 career 3-point field goals, passing Miranda Warfield (2000-04) for third place on UTC's all-time list. Hollinquest had her fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Clemson was led by Shaniqua Pauldo's 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Kirstyn Wright chipped in with 10 points.
Chattanooga hits the road for a four-game swing beginning at Elon on Dec. 17. UTC's next home game is after the new year on Jan. 2 against the College of Charleston at 7:00 p.m. (E.S.T.). Be sure to catch all of the road action on ESPN Radio 105.1 FM or 95.3 The Pulse, with Larry Ward, the "Voice of the Lady Mocs," providing the play-by-play. Fans can also listen online at the official website of Chattanooga athletics, GoMocs.com.
