Kayla Christopher, who made 2-of-5 three-pointers, scored 18 points for UTC.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Sophomore Taylor Hall scored 10 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Furman won the opening game tip-off.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Whitney Hood scores 2-of-21 points in the game.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Alex Black scores off the glass.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Furman double-teamed Whitney Hood for nearly the entire game.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Coach Wes Moore does some quick teaching on the sidelines.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Paladin coach Jackie Carson speaks with one of the officials.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Brittany Hodges guards Faith Dupree.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Kylie Lambert underneath.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Tenisha Townsend drives to the goal. She made two huge three-pointers for UTC
photo by Tim Evearitt
Meghan Downes tries for a three-pointer.
photo by Tim Evearitt
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) and sophomore Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) posted double-doubles to lead the Lady Mocs to a 71-53 Southern Conference women’s basketball victory over Furman Sunday afternoon at the McKenzie Arena. The Lady Mocs improve to 12-4 overall and 7-0 in league play while the Paladins fall to 9-8 on the year and 5-3 in SoCon action.
Hood posted her second double-double of the year with a game-high 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds while Hall recorded a career-high 15 rebounds and dropped in 10 points for her third double-double this season and added a career-high three blocked shots.
Post-game quotes
Chattanooga got out to a slow start with Furman scoring the first five points of the game. The Lady Mocs responded with five from Hall for the first tie of the game, but the Paladins retook the lead and were up 17-9 with 9:28 to play in the first half.
Over the next 7:20, however, Hood and junior Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) combined for 17 points in an 18-7 Chattanooga run giving the Lady Mocs its largest lead of the half at 27-24 with 1:43 to play in the opening stanza. Furman scored the final three points of the half, tying it up for the fourth time at 27-27.
The second half started with a quick 3-pointer from Fuman’s Brigid Morrissey and that would be the Paladin’s last lead of the game. Chattanooga responded with a 12-3 run to take a 39-33 lead. Furman answered with a layup from Teshia Griswold making it a four-point game with 12:52 to play.
The turn in momentum came for Chattanooga with 12:33 on the clock. Hall nailed a 3-pointer and got a block on the other end seconds later and a fastbreak 3-pointer from Christopher quickly put the Lady Mocs up 45-35 for their first double-digit lead. Sophomore Alex Black (Memphis, Tenn.) followed with a quick layup for eight unanswered points from the Lady Mocs.
Chattanooga kepts its foot on the gas from there on out and continued the double-digit lead for the remainder of the game outscoring the Paladins 24-18 over the final 11 minutes of play.
Christopher also had a huge night for the Lady Mocs with 18 points and five assists. Junior Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) made all six of her free throw attempts in the closing minutes and ended with eight points and eight rebounds. Senior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) connected on a pair of second-half 3-pointers for six points, three assists and three steals.
After shooting just 1-of-11 from the 3-point line in the first half, Chattanooga was 5-of-10 in the second and shot 45.7 percent (16-of-35) in the latter stanza from the field. The Lady Mocs were 15-of-19 from the free throw line and pulled down a season-high 56 rebounds, outdueling Furman on the boards by 56-35.
The Paladins were led by Brittany Hodges 14 points and five rebounds. Raegan Thompson had 11 points on 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and seven rebounds. Lashana Booker was the team’s high rebounder with nine boards.
Chattanooga outscored Furman 38-26 in the paint and had 12 second chance points off 19 offensive rebounds. The Paladins had 10 fastbreak points to Chattanooga’s two and scored 13 points off 15 Chattanooga miscues.
Box Score
The Lady Mocs will host Samford Wednesday evening at the McKenzie Arena at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs are 10-6 overall and 5-2 in the SoCon with a win over Wofford today.