NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team clawed its way back into the game but fell in the waning seconds 66-65 to Wyoming in Game One of the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Basketball Classic hosted by Cal State Northridge at the Matadome.

The Lady Mocs (1-4) started cold from the floor missing all of their first six shots. Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) got UTC going with seven straight points and Chattanooga closed the gap to 33-27 by halftime.

Down the stretch the Lady Mocs clawed their way back into the game shooting 54.5 percent (12-of-22) in the second half. Hood put together a traditional 3-point play on a made layup and was fouled to cut the lead to 65-62 with just 1:27 to play.

Wyoming missed a 3-point attempt and sophomore Kiara Smith (Rome, Ga.) got the defensive board and the Lady Mocs pushed the ball down the court where Smith drained a trey from the right wing to tie the game at 65-65 with 46.7 seconds to play.

Wyoming's Aubrey Vandiver drove to the bucket and was fouled by UTC's Hood. She missed the back end of her two attempts for the go-ahead score.

With 28.5 seconds remaining, the Lady Mocs had a shot to put the game away but lost control of the ball as time was winding down and fell 66-65.

Hood led UTC with 22 points and sophomore Kayla Christopher had 13 points with three 3-pointers. Chattanooga was 17-of-19 from the charity stripe and connected on six long range bombs shooting 42 percent from the floor.

The Cowgirls (3-1) were led by 31 points from Vandiver on 10-of-19 shooting and 8-of-11 from the free throw line.

Chattanooga will play Wichita State or Cal State Northridge in the consolation game Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Larry Ward, the "Voice of the Lady Mocs" will have all the action live on 106.9 FM. Live stats and audio will be available at the official website of UTC athletics, GoMocs.com.