NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — The College of Charleston chose to defend the Southern Conference women’s player of the year one-on-one.
That didn’t work.
Neither did its defense on Alex Anderson’s sidekick, Shanara Hollinquest. The post players combined for 27 points and 12 rebounds in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s 68-53 win over the Cougars on Sunday.
“Maybe I should have gone to the double-team earlier,” Charleston coach Nancy Wilson said. “But they ended up scoring out of that, too.”
UTC owned the post area on both ends of the floor and advanced to the conference tournament final today at 5.
UTC scored 30 points in the paint, not including a few free throws earned while getting fouled around the basket. Of those 30 points, 20 came before the Lady Mocs took a 37-21 lead into halftime.
Anderson and Hollinquest accounted for 12 points during a 20-4 run in the first half that gave UTC a 29-17 lead.
“It wasn’t difficult,” said Anderson, who scored 15 points and had four assists. “I had to read what they were doing. If they doubled, I would kick it out.”
Hollinquest rarely received the double-team treatment even though she scored 15 points in a quarterfinal against UNC Greensboro. On Sunday, she finished 5-for-13 from the floor.
She has scored at least 13 points in four of her five career SoCon tournament games.
“No doubt she was a difference-maker in the conference tournament last year,” UTC coach Wes Moore said. “This year, she’s done it all year.
“She and Alex are a great 1-2 punch. We have a couple of people that can get the job done down there on the block.”
Senior guard Laura Hall complemented the post players on Sunday and finished with 15 points of 5-of-7 shooting.
“We go into every game waiting to see how an opponent is going to defend the post,” Moore said. “In the first half, they played it straight-up and allowed Alex to have some success.”
UTC’s post players also performed well on the defensive end. Charleston’s starting forwards combined for 11 points and nine rebounds. Charleston guard Nikki Williams led the Cougars with 17 points.
“The physical ability of their posts never allowed us to go inside to our posts,” Wilson said. “You’re not going to beat them with only outside shots.”
