DAVIDSON, N.C. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team fell 56-52 to Davidson Monday night at Belk Arena in Southern Conference action. UTC is now 13-6 overall and 8-2 in league play while the Wildcats improve to 12-7 on the season and 8-2 in SoCon play.
The loss drops the Lady Mocs to a tie with the Wildcats for second in the league standings after Appalachian State recorded its eighth SoCon win defeating Samford at home.
Senior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) led all scorers with 18 points and seven rebounds and freshman Ka'Vonne Towns (Lilburn, Ga.) topped her career in scoring with eight points and assists with four and tied her previous best in steals with three.
Junior Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) had seven points and pulled down a season-high seven rebounds for Chattanooga.
The Lady Mocs shot 36.4 percent (20-of-55) from the field and tied its season low making just 3-of-17 from the 3-point line.
Hood spotted Chattanooga its first six points of the game to get out to a 6-0 lead but Davidson responded with a 9-0 run with scoring from three different players to lead 9-6 at the 15:32 mark of the first half.
Hood got her eighth point of the first half to cut the lead to 9-8 moments later. Davidson stretched its lead with a 9-3 advantage for a 20-11 lead with 8:31 to play before the break. Towns entered the game and after classmate Ashley Southern (Tuscumbia, Ala.) scored four unanswered, she responded with six points, two steals and two assists giving UTC a 23-20 lead with 4:51 on the clock. The Lady Mocs held on to lead it 27-25 at the break.
In the second half, the Wildcats came out with a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the second stanza. Sophomore Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) and Hood hit back-to-back jumpers to tie it up 31-31 with 14:44 to play.
Davidson Sophia Aleksandravicus put the Wildcats up 33-31, but Chattanooga came back with a jumper from Hall to tie it up 33-33 and a layup from sophomore Faith Dupree (Knoxville, Tenn.) to take a slim lead, 35-31, with 12:21 to play. It would be the final lead for Chattanooga.
Davidson reeled off 10 straight points for a 43-35 lead with 8:38 to play. Laura Murray fueled the Wildcats scoring in the second half getting all 13 of her points in the period, including three 3-pointers.
Chattanooga battled back late in the game. After trailing 53-47 with 2:38 to play, the Lady Mocs cut the lead to three points on free throws from Christopher and Hood to make it a 53-50 game, but Davidson held on outscoring UTC 3-2 in the final 45 seconds for the win.
Aleksandravicius led the Wildcats with 15 points. 10 rebounds and five blocked shots and Murray had 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Barbara Sitton just missed a double-double with nine points and eight boards.
Chattanooga shot 36.4 percent (20-of-55) on the night and just 3-of-17 from the 3-point line. At the charity stripe, the Lady Mocs were 9-of-13 (69.2%) and outscored Davidson 28-16 in the paint. The Lady Mocs got 18 points from the bench compared to the Wildcats' six. Davidson outrebounded the Lady Mocs 45-40 and got 16 points off 19 offensive rebounds.
Chattanooga will host UNCG on Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Roundhouse in the first game of a double-header. At 3:30, the Lady Mocs will host a reception, open to the public, at the Lawson Center, Chattem Basketball Practice Facility and honor former Lady Mocs players, coaches and support staff at halftime.
Tickets to the game are available online at GoMocs.com or by calling the McKenzie Arena box office at 423.266.6627 (MOCS). Live stats, video and audio streaming are available at the official website of Chattanooga athletics, GoMocs.com.
