Relying on a strong defense and solid offense, the Chattanooga Lady Mocs defeated Georgia Southern, 75-43, Saturday night at McKenzie Arena in a Southern Conference women’s basketball game.

The Lady Mocs (11-4, 4-1) were led by Taylor Hall (16 points, 7 rebounds), Ashlen DeWart (14 points, 2 rebound) and Kylie Lambert (8 points and game-high 10 rebounds).

Mimi DuBose topped the Eagles (2-13, 1-5) with 13 points and four assists.

The visitors started cold from the field – 1-10 in the six minutes - with only their only points coming on a 3-pointer from Meredyth Frye at 17:42 to make it 5-3. The visitors would get no closer.

“We came out with a lot of energy and were flying around on defense which was good to see,” said UTC coach Wes Moore.

The Mocs had their second highest steal output (12) in five weeks, had its second lowest turnover (11) total for the season and dished out the second most assists (19) this season.

“Coach Moore told us he was proud of us for causing so many turnovers (24).  I felt we did a real good job of pressuring them from the start,” said Lambert.

The Mocs’ largest lead of the first half was 18 at 33-15 on a jumper by DeWart at 3:25 before intermission.

While the defense was solid from opening tap to the final horn, Hall stepped up on offense with her highest scoring output since a 16-point production in an 84-54 win against Belmont in the second game of the season.

“It felt good to hit some shots, since I have been in a shooting slump lately,” stated Hall who was 6-of-9 from the field in the second half after a 1-for-3, 2-point output in the first 20 minutes.

“It was good to see Taylor have a good second half, hit some shots and gain some confidence,”  coach Moore said.

While the Mocs led in most every category, coach Moore did point out that though Georgia Southern was down 14 (37-23) early in the second half they did not fold.

“Give them credit for taking advantage of a lull in our offense early in the second half,” coach Moore stated.

The Eagles cut the Mocs lead to single digits – down 8 at 41-33 at 14:41 – with a 10-4 run, but could not get any closer.

The Mocs were up 19 at 55-26 at 8:34 on a layup by Destiny Bramlett, before Hall scored the next six points for a 25-point lead at 61-36 advantage at 6:50.

Home Win Streak Extended: The Lady Mocs have now won 19 straight at home over two seasons; 13 straight a year ago and all six home games this season.

Next Home Game: UTC hosts College of Charleston Monday at 7 p.m.

Good to Be Home: "We have been on the road for a month playing before 3-400 fans a game and its great to be back in McKenzie Arena playing in front of our great fans," said coach Moore. "Playing before more than 2,000 people is a welcome sight."

UTC remains at home to take on the College of Charleston Monday night. The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through the McKenzie Arena box office at 423-266-6627 (MOCS) or online at GoMocs.com. Live stats and video streaming is available for those who can’t make the game and Larry Ward, the “Voice of the Lady Mocs” will have all the action live starting at 6:40 p.m. on ESPN 105.1 FM.

CHATTANOOGA 75, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 43
GEORGIA SOUTHERN (2-13, 1-5 SoCon)
DUBOSE, MiMi 4-9 2-2 13; FRYE, Meredyth 3-12 1-2 8; SAMS, Alexis 2-5 0-0 6;
COOK, Jordi 2-6 0-0 5; WOFFORD, Aishya 2-7 0-1 4; KIRKLAND, Sierra 1-3 1-3
3; DOWLING, Lacie 1-3 0-0 2; SPENCER, Danielle 1-3 0-0 2; SMITH, Ronnesha
0-0 0-0 0; DAVIS, Maggie 0-0 0-0 0; RAWLS, Kiki 0-1 0-0 0; DeFILIPPIS,
Adrienne 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-49 4-8 43.

CHATTANOOGA (11-3, 4-1 SoCon)
HALL, Taylor 7-12 2-2 16; DEWART, Ashlen 6-10 2-2 14; DOWNES, Meghan 3-8 2-2
8; LAMBERT, Kylie 3-7 1-2 8; BRAMBLETT, Destiny 3-5 1-3 8; CHRISTOPHER,
Kayla 2-4 2-4 8; TOWNS, Ka'Vonne 2-4 1-2 6; JACKSON, Tatianna 2-3 0-0 4;
FREEMAN, Kayla 0-1 2-6 2; PAYNE, Alicia 0-1 1-2 1; BLACK, Alex 0-5 0-0 0.
Totals 28-60 14-25 75.
Georgia Southern..............   23   20  -   43
Chattanooga...................   35   40  -   75
3-point goals--Georgia Southern 7-18 (DUBOSE, MiMi 3-5; SAMS, Alexis 2-5;
COOK, Jordi 1-3; FRYE, Meredyth 1-3; DOWLING, Lacie 0-2), Chattanooga 5-18
(CHRISTOPHER, Kayla 2-3; BRAMBLETT, Destiny 1-1; TOWNS, Ka'Vonne 1-2;
LAMBERT, Kylie 1-3; PAYNE, Alicia 0-1; BLACK, Alex 0-3; JACKSON, Tatianna
0-1; DOWNES, Meghan 0-2; HALL, Taylor 0-2). Fouled out--Georgia
Southern-WOFFORD, Aishya, Chattanooga-None. Rebounds--Georgia Southern 31
(WOFFORD, Aishya 7), Chattanooga 45 (LAMBERT, Kylie 10). Assists--Georgia
Southern 10 (DUBOSE, MiMi 4), Chattanooga 19 (PAYNE, Alicia 4). Total
fouls--Georgia Southern 21, Chattanooga 13. Technical fouls--Georgia
Southern-None, Chattanooga-None. A-2183

McKenzie Arena, Chattanooga, Tenn. Jan. 12, 2013

contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net