Junior Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) scored seven of Chattanooga's first 10 points, getting the Lady Mocs out to a quick 10-5 lead on the Mountaineers. Chattanooga continued its push, trailing only in the opening seconds of the the half. Sophomore Meghan Downes (Newnan, Ga.) drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 11:55 to go in the first to give Chattanooga its largest lead of the game at 23-13.

However, Chattanooga went cold from the field after a jumper from sophomore Alex Black (Memphis, Tenn.) one minute later. Appalachian State chipped away at UTC's lead getting to within three points. Chattanooga's next points would come with 4:18 to play on a pair of free throws from senior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) to make it a five point game. The Mountaineers outscored UTC 6-2 over the finals minutes of the opening stanza cutting the lead to 29-28 in favor of the Lady Mocs at the half.

Appalachian State quickly took the lead in the opening moments of the second half to take the lead for good on its first shot. Less than six minutes into the half, ASU's lead climbed to 41-32 as the Lady Mocs managed just three points in that time.

With the Mountaineers leading 50-39 with 6:30 to play, UTC sophomore Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) scored six quick points, combined with a pair of free throws from Hood and the Lady Mocs cut the lead to 52-47 with 2:54 to play.

Chattanooga was outscored 10-4 over the final minutes of the game going 1-for-3 from the field and 2-of-4 from the free throw line with two turnovers.

The Lady Mocs fall to 13-5 overall and suffer its first Southern Conference loss of the season with an 8-1 league mark. The Mountaineers improve to 13-3 overall and 7-1 in conference play.

Appalachian State outdueled Chattanooga on the boards by a 48-25 margin and scored 10 points off 19 offensive rebounds. The Mountaineers outscored UTC in the paint 26-12 and went 19-of-22 from the charity stripe.

Chattanooga shot 35.3 percent (18-of-51) for the game and went 5-of-26 from the 3-point line while making 10-of-13 from the free throw line. Hood led Chattanooga with 12 points while pulling down four rebounds and dished out a team-high three assists. Hall had nine points and a team-best six rebounds to go along with two blocked shots and two steals. Downes finished with nine points and Christopher had seven.

ASU's Maryah Sydnor led all scorers with 16 points and Anna Freeman had 13, making 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Courtney Freeman had a game-high seven rebounds to go with eight points.

Chattanooga returns to action Monday night at Davidson. The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. from Belk Arena. Larry Ward, the "Voice of the Lady Mocs" will have the call live on ESPN 105.1 "The Zone". Live stats, streaming video and audio will be available on GoMocs.com, the official website of Chattanooga Athletics.

NOTE: The Lady Mocs return home for a double-header Saturday, Jan. 28 against UNCG at 5 p.m. and will have a special halftime recognition for past Lady Mocs. "Once a Moc, Always a Moc!"