University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Oklahoma State
Chattanooga?s Upset Bid Falls Short in First Round of NCAA Tournament
3/20/2010 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
TEMPE, Ariz.---The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team, seeded 13th in the Sacramento Region, had its upset bid thwarted by No. 19 Oklahoma State losing 70-63 in the Wells Fargo Arena Saturday night. Chattanooga ends its season 24-10, while OSU (25-10) advances to face either Georgia or Tulane Monday night.
Kayla Christopher had a good all-around game leading a trio of Lady Mocs in double digits with 15 points to go with nine rebounds. Shanara Hollinquest, the 2010 Southern Conference Player of the Year, had 14 points and a game-high 11 boards, while sophomore Tenisha Townsend scored 11.
Toni Young and Tegan Cunningham combined for 47 points to lead the Cowgirls. Cunningham scored 25, while Young's energy keyed the OSU comeback as she scored 22 points to go with five boards. Ally Clardy did not score, but she did dish out 10 assists and grab three steals.
The Lady Mocs got off to a great start making their first five shots taking a 13-4 lead on a Christopher three-pointer at 16:59 in the first half. After the Cowgirls cut the lead to seven, 17-10, Chattanooga went on an impressive 12-0 run to take a 19-point advantage, 29-10.
Hollinquest started it with a layup at 13:13, while another Christopher three capped it with 9:53 left until intermission. The Lady Mocs held OSU without a field goal for 10:43 between Precious Robinson layups.
Oklahoma State closed to 15 points, 31-16, on a Cunningham basket, but field goals by Christopher, Kylie Lambert and Townsend pushed the Lady Mocs to a 37-19 halftime advantage.
It was a dominating defensive effort from the start for Chattanooga as it limited the Cowgirls to a meager 17.1 percent (6-35) from the field and zero percent (0-12) from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes. That defense was a help as the Lady Mocs cooled off from its fast start to shoot 39.4 percent (13-33) from the field.
OSU scored the first six points of the second half before a Michelle Davis three-pointer from the top of the key got the Lady Mocs on the board at 17:20 to make it 40-25. The Cowgirls continued to chip away.
A 10-0 Cowgirls run cut the lead to 40-35 before Erin Helton hit a three from the top of the key at 14:05 on a nice kickout from Hollinquest to make it 43-35. OSU kept the pressure on however.
The Cowgirls closed to two points, 43-41, on back-to-back baskets by Young, the second coming at 12:34 as Chattanooga recorded 10 turnovers in the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the second half. Townsend ended the brief 6-0 OSU run with a jumper at 11:50.
Robinson tied the game at 48-all on a layup at 9:09 marking a 29-11 run for the Cowgirls. A Christopher free throw at 8:47 put the Lady Mocs back up by one, 49-48, but two Megan Byford free throws put the Cowgirls up for the first time since 2-0 at 7:47, 50-49.
Hollinquest responded with a layup to make it 51-50 for the Lady Mocs 15 seconds later. But OSU kept the pressure on scoring 10 of the next 12 points to take control of the game, 60-53, on a Cunningham jumper at 5:04.
The Lady Mocs answered. Three-pointers from Christopher and Davis along with a Hollinquest layup on a great pass from Christopher cut the Cowgirls' advantage to one, 62-61, at 3:13, but it was not to be.
OSU scored eight straight points before a Lambert jumper late made the final 70-63. The Cowgirls out-scored Chattanooga 51-26 after the break forcing 17 Lady Mocs turnovers with relentless pressure.
Cunningham and Young each did most of their damage in the decisive second half run for the Cowgirls. Cunningham tossed in 19 after the break, while Young managed 16. Robinson came off the bench to add 10 points, nine rebounds and four steals for OSU.
UTC ends its season after an 11th straight regular season SoCon title. The Lady Mocs won their 13th conference tournament crown, the eighth under head coach Wes Moore.
The 24 wins is the 11th consecutive year the Moore-led Lady Mocs have topped 20 wins. Nine of those years, Chattanooga has won 24 or more games.
Hollinquest is the fifth Lady Moc to register 1,700 points and 800 rebounds as she ends her illustrious career with 1,700 points and 891 boards. Jenaya Wade-Fray finishes as the Lady Mocs' all-time leader in games played (131).
