It's now 21 straight victories at home for the Chattanooga Lady Mocs, but the latest win for the Blue and Gold Saturday night in McKenzie Arena did not come easy.

Double-doubles from juniors Taylor Hall (15 pts.,11 rebs.) and Ashlen Dewart (12 pts., 12 rebs.) keyed UTC to a 59-55 win against visiting Appalachian State before an announced crowd of 2,636 to improve to 9-1 in the Southern Conference (16-3 overall) and remain in first place.

UTC, which has now won six straight, led by seven at halftime, 31-24, and built a 15-point lead five minutes into the second half at 44-29, but had to withstand a Mountaineers run down the stretch.

“It wasn’t pretty, but it was a gutsy win,” said UTC coach Wes Moore.

“We had a great crowd (16th largest crowd in Lady Mocs history) and a fun atmosphere and I am really appreciative of our fans as we outdraw most of the SEC schools in attendance which means a great deal to me and our players.”

The Mountaineers (6-2) stay in fourth place in the SoCon standings, while Davidson (8-1) moves into second place with a 77-62 home win earlier today against third place Elon (7-2).

App State used a 16-1 run in an eight minute second half stetch to tie the game at 45-45 on a jumper by KeKe Cooper at 7:31 and then took a two-point lead at 55-53 at 2:16 on a pair of free throws by Anna Freeman.

That was ASU’s first lead since holding a 16-15 advantage at 9:52 of the first half on a layup by Courtney Freeman.

The Mocs’ Hall keyed the UTC victory in the final two minutes with a game-tying jumper (55-55) in the lane at 1:20, pulled down a defensive rebound, while Kayla Christopher then converted a pair of free throws on that possession for a 57-55 advantage.

Hall, who registered her first double-double of the season and eighth of her career, continued her heroics with a key offensive rebound off a missed free throw by Tatianna Jackson with five seconds remaining and then nailed her free throws to clinch the win.

“We are a veteran team and are use to the pressure so we did not get stressed when we were behind late in the game,” said Hall.

“Somebody needed to make a shot late and I was able to convert on the jumper in the last couple of minutes.”

The win was especially sweet for Dewart who transferred to UTC from Appalachian State in the fall of 2011.

“This win is special since it is App State, but every game is important,” said Dewart who started strong tonight with 10 points and eight rebounds in the first half.

Last Loss at Home to App State: Ironically, the last time UTC lost at home to ASU was in a 57-56 setback on Feb. 14, 2011 as Dewart, then wearing the ASU Black and Gold, scored seven points to help beat the Lady Mocs.

The win was also important for all the UTC players as its avenged a 77-52 loss to ASU in last year’s SoCon tourney.

“They beat us in the SoCon tournament last year so we had something to prove to ourselves today,” Hall stated.

Joining Hall and Dewart in double figure scoring were Kylie Lambert and Christopher with 11 points each.

Maryah Sydnor and Katie Mallow led ASU in scoring with 11 points each.

“Several people contributed as we had four players score in double figures and we won the rebounding battle (40-38 overall and 16-14 on the offensive end),” Moore stated.

“Ashlen had her best game on the boards and Ka’vonne Towns had a key steal late with us only up two with 16 seconds remaining.”

Twelve seconds later, Hall gained her third offensive rebound and converted her charity tosses.

Winning Streak: UTC has now won six straight … last loss was a 70-60 OT setback at Elon on Jan. 7 … With the win, the Mocs snapped App State’s five-game win streak … The last time UTC won six straight was Dec. 2011 … prior to that, the Mocs reeled off 13 straight wins during the 2009-10 campaign …

21 at Home: The Lady Mocs have won 21 straight in McKenzie Arena in two seasons … school record is 25 … UTC can eclipse that record by winning the remaining five home games this season.

Outside Shooting: The Lady Mocs were 7-24 from 3-point range, while App State was 0-9 ...

UTC shot 35.2% from the field while ASU shot 36.2%

Looking Ahead:  Coach Moore said, “We must protect home court (21 straight wins … last home loss was Mar. 6 2011 to Samford) … and we have to be a better basketball team the next five weeks.”

What Needs Fixing: “We struggled some offensively and turned it over (16, while App State had 14) too much,” stated Coach Moore.

Coach Moore’s Lucky Longhorn Cup: “I got it before the Davidson game over there and we have won four straight, so I plan to keep it,” said UTC coach Wes Moore.

Next Game:  The Mocs are on the road next week at Furman (Feb.2) and at Wofford (Feb.4) …

Legends Weekend - Next Home Game: UTC hosts Samford (Wed. Feb.6) and Elon (Sat. Feb.9) in a women’s and men’s doubleheader.

Happy Birthday: Junior Destiny Bramblett turns 21 on Monday.

CHATTANOOGA 59, APPALACHIAN STATE 55
APPALACHIAN STATE (12-4, 6-2 SoCon)
MALLOW, Katie 4-13 4-4 12; SYDNOR, Maryah 5-11 2-2 12; FREEMAN, Courtney 4-6
2-4 10; GARY, Raven 3-11 3-4 9; FREEMAN, Anna 3-12 2-2 8; COOPER, KeKe 2-4
0-0 4; GATEWOOD, LaShawna 0-1 0-0 0; TAYLOR, Michelle 0-0 0-0 0; SHARKEY,
Kelsey 0-0 0-0 0; WOOD, Farrahn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 13-16 55.

CHATTANOOGA (16-3, 9-1 SoCon)
HALL, Taylor 5-10 2-2 15; DEWART, Ashlen 5-9 2-4 12; LAMBERT, Kylie 4-8 0-0
11; CHRISTOPHER, Kayla 2-7 6-8 11; JACKSON, Tatianna 2-2 2-6 6; DUPREE,
Faith 1-4 0-0 2; PAYNE, Alicia 0-2 2-2 2; BLACK, Alex 0-8 0-0 0; DOWNES,
Meghan 0-2 0-0 0; TOWNS, Ka'Vonne 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 14-22 59.
Appalachian State.............   24   31  -   55
Chattanooga...................   31   28  -   59
3-point goals--Appalachian State 0-9 (MALLOW, Katie 0-4; GARY, Raven 0-1;
FREEMAN, Anna 0-4), Chattanooga 7-24 (HALL, Taylor 3-5; LAMBERT, Kylie 3-6;
CHRISTOPHER, Kayla 1-4; PAYNE, Alicia 0-1; BLACK, Alex 0-5; DOWNES, Meghan
0-1; TOWNS, Ka'Vonne 0-2). Fouled out--Appalachian State-MALLOW, Katie,
Chattanooga-None. Rebounds--Appalachian State 38 (FREEMAN, Anna 9),
Chattanooga 40 (DEWART, Ashlen 12). Assists--Appalachian State 12 (GARY,
Raven 4), Chattanooga 14 (CHRISTOPHER, Kayla 5). Total fouls--Appalachian
State 21, Chattanooga 14. Technical fouls--Appalachian State-None,
Chattanooga-None. A-2636
16th Largest Attendance in Lady Mocs History

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