UTC Lady Mocs Rally to Edge UNCG, 74-68

Christopher Sparks Black Out Nite

  • Monday, February 11, 2013
  • B.B. Branton
Kayla Christopher
Kayla Christopher
photo by Tim Evearitt

On Black Out Night at McKenzie Arena, UTC senior Kayla Christopher shot lights out with 15 second half points, including three straight 3-pointers as the Lady Mocs rallied for a 74-68 Southern Conference win against UNC-Greensboro Monday night.

With UTC trailing by six at 43-37 at 13:47, Christopher, appropriately wearing jersey No.3,  sparked a 25-7 run to go up 62-50 (at 4:55) in just under nine minutes with four, 3s and a layup for 14 of her game-high 20.

"Our stops on defense keyed our offense to get open looks at the basket and I was able to hit some threes to get us back in the game," said Christopher whose 216 career assists ties her for second all-time at UTC with Katasha Brown. "I give the Lord the glory for my basketball ability and work hard to do whatever I can to help the team."

UTC improves to 21-3 overall and 14-1 in the SoCon, while UNCG fell to 15-18 overall and 2-12 in conference play.

In winning their 24th straight home game over two seasons, the Lady Mocs presented coach Wes Moore with his 350th victory at UTC and 550th overall.

While Christopher had 20 points and five assists, Ashlen Dewart had her fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

UNCG Rallies: The Lady Mocs led by as many as seven in the first half at 27-20 at 5:22, only to have the Spartans outscore the hosts 12-4 for a 32-31 halftime advantage.

The lead changed hands four times early in the second half before UNCG had the six-point advantage at 43-37 before Christopher took charge.

"Give UNCG lots of credit as they made it real hard for us to run our offense and they doubled the our players in the post," said coach Moore.

The Spartans forced 19 UTC turnovers, scoring 17 points in transition and shot 46.6% for the game.

"We did win the rebounding batlle (46-25), but with 19 turnovers we have to do a much better job of taking care of the ball," stated Moore whose players shot 49.2% from the field.

UNCG was led by Jessica Collins with a game-high 21 points, followed by Breonna Patterson with 14.

Double-Double: UTC's Ashlen Dewart recorded her fourth double-double (pts.-rebs) of the season ...

First Start: Freshman Tatianna Jackson had her first start of the year tonight and had 11 points, 8 rebounds and  assists ...

Big Spartan Turnaround: UTC beat UNCG by 30, 76-46, on Jan.12 ... UTC wins tonight by six

Season Win Streak: 11    (last time Lady Mocs won at least 11 straight was 13 straight during the 2009-10 season

Win Streak Over Two Seasons: 24  ... school record is 25 ...

Next Game: Sat. Feb. 16 at College of Charleston

Next Home Game: Sat. Feb. 23 -  Western Carolina (TV)

At Chattanooga, Tenn. (The McKenzie Arena)
CHATTANOOGA 74, UNCG 68
UNCG (15-18,2-12 SoCon)
COLLINS, Jessica 8-12 0-0 21; PATTERSON, Breonna 5-13 4-4 14; STEVENSON,
Janae' 6-8 0-0 12; MASON, Lucy 5-14 2-4 12; HARMON, Sidnei 3-6 0-0 6;
SAVAGE, Jarae 0-2 2-2 2; GOINS, Ebona 0-2 1-2 1; BARTLEY, Medena 0-0 0-0 0;
MISSOURI, Jazmine 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 9-12 68.

CHATTANOOGA (21-3, 14-1 SoCon)
CHRISTOPHER, Kayla 7-13 1-2 20; DEWART, Ashlen 9-14 1-3 19; JACKSON,
Tatianna 4-8 3-3 11; DUPREE, Faith 5-8 0-0 10; HALL, Taylor 2-5 1-2 6;
PAYNE, Alicia 1-4 0-0 3; TOWNS, Ka'Vonne 1-3 0-0 2; DOWNES, Meghan 1-3 0-0
2; BLACK, Alex 0-2 1-3 1; LAMBERT, Kylie 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-61 7-13 74.
UNCG..........................   32   36  -   68
Chattanooga...................   31   43  -   74
3-point goals--UNCG 5-11 (COLLINS, Jessica 5-6; PATTERSON, Breonna 0-2;
MASON, Lucy 0-3), Chattanooga 7-20 (CHRISTOPHER, Kayla 5-10; HALL, Taylor
1-2; PAYNE, Alicia 1-3; TOWNS, Ka'Vonne 0-1; DOWNES, Meghan 0-1; BLACK, Alex
0-1; LAMBERT, Kylie 0-1; JACKSON, Tatianna 0-1). Fouled out--UNCG-None,
Chattanooga-None. Rebounds--UNCG 23 (STEVENSON, Janae' 6), Chattanooga 42
(DEWART, Ashlen 10). Assists--UNCG 14 (COLLINS, Jessica 5; PATTERSON,
Breonna 5), Chattanooga 21 (CHRISTOPHER, Kayla 5). Total fouls--UNCG 15,
Chattanooga 12. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, Chattanooga-None. A-1719

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

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