Senior Taylor Hall sparked the Lady Mocs with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
photo by Tim Evearitt
With 9:20 remaining in the game a few notes from “Another
One Bites The Dust” could be heard over Maclellan Gym’s sound system Saturday as the
Chattanooga Lady Mocs shut down an outmanned, outplayed Appalachian State team,69-41.
While the temperature outside Big Mac on an overcast day hovered
in the upper 40s, the Lady Mocs kept the temperature and pressure up inside
winning their 36th straight home game and 27th straight Southern Conference
contest.
Led by senior Taylor Hall’s 11th double-double – 11
points/10 rebounds – UTC improved to 20-3 overall and a spotless 12-0 record in
the SoCon.
Hall was complemented by Aryanna Gilbert’s game-high 14
points and Meghan Downes with 11.
The Lady Mocs started fast – 7-0 lead at 8:16, 11-2 at 15:43 (Gilbert had 8 points) and 20-5
at 11:08 (3-pointer by Meghan Downes) – and never looked back.
The anticipated close game – UTC edged App State 73-68 in
overtime in Boone, N.C.
Jan. 13 – never materialized
as the Mocs offense was 49% from the
field and the defense won the battle on the boards (38-32) and held SoCon leading scorer Maryah
Sydnor (20.5 ppg) to six points. She is also second in the league in rebounding
(8.9), but had only two today.
KeKe Cooper led App State (9-13, 6-6) with 10 points, while
Amber Doniere came off the bench for five points, seven boards and four steals.
“Our energy was good for 35 minutes, we played well on
defense and had good ball movement,” said UTC coach Jim Foster.
"Aryanna (Gilbert) played well on defense today and it
showed, but did not play that well in our overtime game in Boone,” Foster
stated. “She has a chance to be an outstanding defensive player for us.”
Aryanna Gilbert
The 5-9 freshman from Columbia (Tenn.) Central was a perfect
7 of 7 from the field for her 14 points along with two assists, a block and an
assist.
Hot Shooting: In a combination of hot shooting by the
victors and poor shooting and erratic ball handling by the Mountaineers (11 first
half turnovers), UTC was shooting 66% from the field (App State, 18%) at the 12
minute mark of the first half and a torrid 73% from the field (9-20) for a 26-8
lead at 9:20.
So dominating a win is evident by the fact that UTC had 17
points in the first eight minutes (layup by Downes) and App State reached 16 at
halftime. UTC led 26-8 (3-pointer by Downes) with nine minutes left in the
first half and App State didn’t score its 25th point (free throw by Mia
Marshall) until the 8:16 mark remaining in the game.
Good Home Court: “It was fun to play here (Maclellan Gym) in
a smaller gym as there was plenty of energy from our crowd and band,” said
Hall.
Next Game: Lady Mocs go for 37 straight at home Monday night
in a SoCon game with Western Carolina in McKenzie Arena at 7 p.m.
Chattanooga 69, Appalachian State 41
App State 16 – 25 – 41
UTC 40 -29 -- 69
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net
Meghan Downes was 3-for-3 behind the three-point line
photo by Tim Evearitt