Lady Mocs Fend off Furman's Comeback Attempt

1/23/2010 9:00:00 PM | By: GoMocs.com

GREENVILLE, S.C. --- Chattanooga fought off a late game comeback attempt by Furman to hang on to win 58-52 in Southern Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.

The Lady Mocs saw a 23-point second half lead slip away as Furman outscored Chattanooga 26-9 over the final five minutes of play. UTC held on, however, and claimed its ninth consecutive win of the year and 18^th straight win over the Lady Paladins.

Chattanooga improves to 14-6 overall and 9-2 in SoCon play while Furman falls to 6-14 overall and 4-7 in league action.

The game started with a sloppy offensive effort and good defensive efforts. Chattanooga's first eight points of the game came on fast breaks off defensive rebounds and forced turnovers. The Lady Mocs got up by as much as eight points in the first half but shot just 28.1 percent over the period to Furman's 22 percent shooting performance. Chattanooga led 19-12, the lowest scoring output in the first half by either UTC or its opponent this season.

Freshman Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) reeled off a pair of 3-pointers to start the second half followed by one from senior Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) to put the Lady Mocs up 28-14 at the 17:14 mark.

Sophomore Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) drained a pair of 3-pointers in the half pushing the lead up to 36-22 with 13:59 to play. Furman cut into the lead to get within 11 before UTC went on a 12-0 run to grab its largest lead of the game, 49-26, with 6:03 to play.

However, Furman would not go quietly outscoring the Lady Mocs 26-9 over the final five minutes of play. Raegan Thompson who was held scoreless the majority of the game, scored all 10 of her points in the effort including a pair of 3-pointers.

Chattanooga was led by Wade-Fray's 15 points and 10 rebounds, just her second career double-double and first of the year. Christopher had 13 points for UTC with five rebounds and three assists. Townsend chipped in eight points with four rebounds and had a game-high four assists.

In the second half, Chattanooga shot 50 percent (12-of-24) while Furman went 14-for-23 (60.9%) in the latter period. The Lady Mocs won the battle of the boards 38-27 and scored 14 second chance points off 15 offensive boards holding Furman to just four. Both teams turned the ball over 21 times while the Lady Mocs just missed a season-high team total with 14 steals.

Chattanooga will return to action at Wofford Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. in a road double-header with the Mocs who will take on the Terriers immediately following the women's game. With Larry Ward, the "Voice of the Lady Mocs" still on the bench, Jim Reynolds will fill in, calling both games.

All the action can be heard live on ESPN Radio 105.1 "The Zone". Live stats, video and audio streaming (where available) can be found at the official website of Chattanooga athletics, GoMocs.com.

NOTES:

January 23, 2010 - Southern Conference women's basketball

Chattanooga 58, Furman 52

Chattanooga's ninth consecutive win of the season

Chattanooga's 18^th straight win over Furman

Lowest first half scoring total by UTC and opponent this year

Chattanooga 19 points (previous - 20 vs. Richmond, 12/29/09)

Furman 12 points (previous - 16 by Richmond, 12/29/09)

Jenaya Wade-Fray

15 points, 10 rebounds - first double-double of the year, second career

14^th double figure scoring output this season

Has 1,184 career points - passed Karen Mills on all-time charts (1977-81).