Lady Mocs Get 60-53 Comeback Win Over Mountaineers

1/9/2010 5:00:00 PM | By: GoMocs.com

BOONE, N.C. --- Kayla Christopher hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 17-2 Chattanooga run as the Lady Mocs defeated Appalachian State 60-53 in Southern Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Convocation Center.

The Lady Mocs improve to 11-6 overall and 6-2 in league play while the Mountaineers fall to 7-8 overall and 2-4 in SoCon action.

The Lady Mocs led 32-23 at halftime and expanded its lead to 12 points just a little over two minutes into the second half before Appalachian State outscored Chattanooga 28-8 over the next 13 minutes to take its biggest lead of the game at 51-43 with 5:29 to play.

Ashlen Dewart and Chakeitha Weldon combined for 18 of the Mountaineers points in the run with Weldon hitting all nine of hers to propel ASU into the lead. Dewart's jumper with 5:29 capped the run.

Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) drained a 3-pointer with 5:03 on the clock to cut the lead to five. She would nail her second from long range, hitting nothing but net, 34 seconds later to cut deeper into the lead. Senior Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) gave UTC the lead for good on her second trey at 52-51 with 3:20 to play.

Senior Shanara Hollinquest (Sylacauga, Ala.) iced the game with a pair of free throws at the 2:15 mark to put the Lady Mocs up 54-51 before Anna Freeman would score Appalachian State's only two points of the final five minutes of play to cut Chattanooga's lead to 54-53 with 2:01 to play.

After an ASU foul, Hollinquest would drain her next two free throws to stretch the lead back to 56-53 at the 1:42 mark. Dewart missed a jumper and Christopher grabbed the defensive board, but a missed 3-pointer gave the Mountaineers another chance.

Senior Megan Rollins (Monteagle, Tenn.) grabbed a steal and dished the ball to sophomore Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) who drew a foul. Townsend sank both shots and UTC's lead grew to 58-53 with just 25 ticks on the clock.

Christopher grabbed another defensive board on a missed jumper by ASU's Sam Ramirez and, after a foul by the Mountaineers, her free throws were the difference in UTC's 60-53 win.

Hollinquest led UTC with a game-high tying 14 points and eight rebounds. Townsend was the Lady Mocs other scorer in double figures with 10 points and a pair of 3-pointers. Wade-Fray and Christopher each tossed in eight for UTC while Wade-Fray and Rollins each had four assists.

Dewart led the Mountaineers with 14 points, had three rebounds and three assists. Anna Freeman had 10 points for ASU and a team-high six rebounds. Chakeitha Weldon scored all nine of her points in the Mountaineers second half run and pulled down five defensive boards.

UTC held the advantage on the boards 36-30 including 13 on the offensive end. Both teams had 17 turnovers while the Mountaineers had 11 steals to UTC's five.

The Lady Mocs will return to action Monday night at Davidson in a 7 p.m. matchup at Belk Arena. Larry Ward, "The Voice of the Lady Mocs", will have all the action live on 95.3 "The Pulse". Live stats, streaming video and audio will be available at the official website of UTC athletics, GoMocs.com.

NOTES

Chattanooga defeated Appalachian State 60-53

The Lady Mocs are 11-6 overall and 6-2 in the Southern Conference

Appalachian State is 7-8 overall and 3-3 in the Southern Conference

The Lady Mocs record improves to 47-21 against the Mountaineers

The win is Chattanooga's 25^th straight against the Mountaineers

Shanara Hollinquest

Scored double figures for the 16^th time this season

Led the team in scoring for the 13^th time this season

Led the team in rebounding for the 12^th time this season

Seventh all-time at UTC with 1,454 career points. Needs 18 to reach Katasha Brown's (2002-06) 1,472 points.

Eighth all-time at UTC with 748 career rebounds. Needs 20 to reach Kim Brown's (1988-93) 768 rebounds.