NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team claimed its second victory of the season with a 74-68 win over host Cal State Northridge Saturday night at the Matadome in Game Three of the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Basketball Classic.
Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) knocked down a career-high tying 27 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double at UTC. She scored 10 of the last 12 points for the Lady Mocs down the stretch. Sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) was perfect from the floor with a 7-for-7 performance and tied her career-best with four 3-pointers for a career-high 21 points.
The Lady Mocs improve to 2-4 overall with the win and the Matadors remain winless on the year at 0-6.
Chattanooga got out to a 6-2 lead to start the game with the back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore Kiara Smith (Rome, Ga.) who made just her second career start. Northridge cut the lead to 6-5 with a free throw from Janelle Nomura who ended the game with a team-high 20 points.
Chattanooga would answer as Hood scored six points in a 9-2 run along with a 3-pointer from Lambert to give the Lady Mocs their largest lead of the first half at 15-7 with 12:24 to play. Northridge shot 52 percent in the first half, making 13-of-25 but the Lady Mocs held its lead on the strength of six first-half treys and led 34-29 at intermission.
CSUN came out in the second half and tied the game at 45-45 with 14:49 to play getting 16 points from six different players. Sophomore Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) hit a 3-pointer to put UTC back up followed by a bucket from Hood, but Nomura hit a pair of layups and drew a foul to tie it up for the second and final time at 50-50 with 12:41 to play.
Lambert followed with a long-ranger to put the Lady Mocs up for good and Hood put Chattanooga on her shoulders and scored 10 of the Lady Mocs final 12 points in the final 4:13 of the game.
The Lady Mocs return home next Saturday to open Southern Conference play with a 3:30 p.m. matchup against Georgia Southern at the Roundhouse. The game will be televised by SportSouth and carried live on ESPN 105.1 The Zone with the "Voice of the Lady Mocs" Larry Ward. The game will follow the men's game that will tip at 1 p.m.
