University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Brooke Burns was named to the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball All-Tournament Second Team for her performance in the quarterfinal against UNCG.
Burns led all scorers with against the Spartans with 36 points, a career-high for the freshman making her fourth career start. She was 13-of-23 in the effort, making five 3-pointers and was 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
With 3:22 to play in regulation, Burns drained a pair of free throws to give Chattanooga a 51-45 lead.
The Spartans went on a 9-0 run capped off by a layup from Te’Ja Twitty to give UNCG a 53-51 lead with seven seconds remaining.
Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster called for the ball to be put in Burns’ hands for the final play and she would not disappoint. With four second to play her layup tied the game and sent it into overtime.
UNCG started the first overtime period on a 5-0 run, but Burns cut into that lead with a layup and a pair of free throws to cut the Spartan advantage to 58-57 midway through the frame. After drawing a foul, Burns was 1-of-2 from the free throw line to tie the game at 58-58 with 1:10 on the clock.
The Spartans hit a shot to go ahead briefly, but Burns answered again with a layup to tie the game at 60-60. She was fouled on the effort but could not convert the 3-point attempt with just four seconds to play.
In the second overtime, Burns hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give UTC a 66-63 lead with 1:44 remaining. The Spartans, however, scored the final seven points for the 70-66 win.
Burns scored the Mocs’ final 17 points of the game and all 13 in both overtime periods. She played all 50 minutes against the Spartans.
Burns started all of the Mocs’ final four games. She scored in double figures in each game averaging nearly 20 points per game. She had 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists against Wofford, followed that with a team-high 21 points at Mercer. Burns scored 12 in UTC’s come-from-behind victory at Samford to secure the No. 3 seed for the SoCon Tournament.
She was 12-of-23 from the 3-point line over the final four games, averaged five rebounds, 2.7 rebounds per game and was 13-of-19 from the free throw line.
Burns closed out the season with 5.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 15 minutes per game. She scored in double figures five times
Mercer defeated UNCG 68-53 for its first Southern Conference title in three tries. Kahlia Lawrence, the SoCon Player of the Year, was named Tournament Most Outstanding Player. She was joined on the first team by teammate KeKe Calloway, ETSU’s Tianna Tarter and Erica Haynes-Overton and UNCG Ije Ajemba.
The Bears’ Sydni Means and Amanda Thompson headlined the second team, giving four to the Bears on the All-Tournament squad. Samford placed Olivia Crozier and Hannah Nichols on the second team along with Burns.
Thompson received the Pinnacle Award as the student-athlete on the wining team with the highest GPA.
ETSU is 0-5 in SoCon Tournament finals. The Bucs fell in overtime to Chattanooga in the finals in 2015, their first year back in the Southern Conference after departing in 2005.
Most Outstanding Player
Kahlia Lawrence, Sr., G, Mercer
Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)
Amanda Thompson, Jr., F, Mercer
First Team
Tianna Tarter, ETSU
Erica Haynes-Overton, ETSU
KeKe Calloway, Mercer
Kahlia Lawrence, Mercer
Ije Ajemba, UNCG
Second Team
Sydni Means, Mercer
Amanda Thompson, Mercer
Brooke Burns, Chattanooga
Olivia Crozier, Samford
Hannah Nichols, Samford