CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Chattanooga senior Shanara Hollinquest (Sylacauga, Ala.) made her first free throw attempt of the game to become the Lady Mocs' all-time leader in that category. However, it would be the last two that would lift Chattanooga past Western Carolina, 68-66, with 0.9 seconds on the clock.
The win was the eighth straight for the Lady Mocs who remain atop the Southern Conference standings at 8-2 and are 13-6 overall.
With the game knotted up 66-66 and 23.3 seconds remaining, the Lady Mocs called for a time out to set up the final play. Freshman Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) took the inbounds pass and delivered the ball to classmate Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.). Senior Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) grabbed the hand off and, using the pick, drove inside.
The Catamounts moved in for the stop and Wade-Fray fumbled the ball briefly. After gathering up the loose ball, she took a shot that hit off the front of the rim and Hollinquest gathered it in, going back up for the shot. A hard foul sent her to the line with less than one second on the clock.
Appearing calm on the outside, but by her own admission a "bundle of nerves" on the inside, she stepped up to the line. She put the first through the net and hit her first to put the Lady Mocs on top by one. She hit her second and the Catamounts immediately called time out to set up the final play.
Caitlin Hollifield, a transfer from Alabama, threw a baseball toss the length of the court and UTC senior Megan Rollins (Monteagle, Tenn.) intercepted the pass for the win.
The Catamounts, looking to end a three-game losing skid, got the scoring started with a 5-0 lead before the Lady Mocs sophomore point guard Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) hit a three to cut the lead to two. It would be the largest lead of the game for Western Carolina who falls to 3-14 on the year and 2-6 in SoCon play.
Chattanooga grabbed the lead just moments later on Hollinquest's career free throw No. 419 to go up 10-9. The score would remain close throughout the period with both teams grabbing leads. The Lady Catamounts had a five-point lead with 2:17 remaining at 36-31, but Chattanooga would close out the period and get to within a point at the break trailing 36-35.
In the second half, the score seesawed back and forth until the Lady Mocs put together an 11-3 run fueled by a seven-point scoring performance by redshirt freshman Michelle Davis (Cleveland, Tenn.) gave Chattanooga its largest lead of the game at 60-53 with 7:08 to play.
The Lady Cats, however, would claw their way back into the game with a 13-2 run to go up 66-62 with 2:39 remaining in the game. The Lady Mocs would hold them off and out score WCU 6-0 over the final minutes of the game to grab the win.
Hollinquest led the Lady Mocs with her 10th double-double of the year on 19 points and 10 rebounds. She moved past Katasha Brown (2002-06) to sixth place on the all-time scoring charts with 1,488 career points. She also moved past Kim Brown (1988-93) to seventh place on the career rebounding charts with 769. She is the all-time leader at UTC for made free throws with 425, passing Regina Kirk's 22-year-old school record 418 with her first made basket from the charity stripe.
Wade-Fray had 13 points for the Lady Mocs and four assists while Davis put in 11 points and eight rebounds. Lambert and Christopher combined for seven assists.
Western Carolina was led in scoring by Emily Clarke's game-high 22 points. She also had a team-high seven rebounds. Kaila-Shea Menendez had 13 points, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line while Kendra Carroll contributed 10 points with two steals for the Lady Cats.
Chattanooga will return to action on the road next Saturday at Furman. Follow the action on 105.1 FM, the flagship station of Chattanooga athletics. Live stats, video and audio streaming will be available at the official UTC athletics web page, GoMocs.com.
Western Carolina will continue its road trip with a Monday night matchup against Samford in Birmingham, Ala. The game is set to tip at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
