Lady Mocs seniors ended 106-21

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Winning a game in the NCAA tournament is all that eluded the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s five women’s basketball seniors in their careers, which came to an end Sunday at the Arena at Harbor Yard.

Everything else they sought, Laura Hall, Brooke Hand, Alex Anderson, Kristen Spann and Amy Mohr did more than once. They won four Southern Conference regular-season titles, extending the program’s streak to nine in a row; they took SoCon tournament titles their last three years; they had undefeated runs through the league two of the past three years.

The seniors close out their careers with a record of 106-21, with four of the losses coming against Tennessee.

“It’s definitely been a great four years,” said Hand, who made five 3-pointers in her final game. “We wanted to win a game here in the NCAA tournament and we came close a couple of times, but it didn’t happen. That doesn’t take away from everything we’ve been able to do the last four years, though. Not at all.”

The 12th-seeded Lady Mocs (29-4) came close to getting that NCAA win and playing in the second round tonight. They led 36-29 with 16:31 to play and trailed by just a point with less than two minutes remaining but couldn’t hold off fifth-seeded Kansas State in the final 77 seconds.

The 16th-ranked Wildcats stopped UTC’s 24-game win streak with a 9-0 run to end the game and prevailed 69-59, sending the Lady Mocs to their third straight first-round exit.

Hall, sitting on the dais with Hand to her right and Anderson and coach Wes Moore to her left, began weeping as she spoke about the past four years. Anderson, the two-time SoCon player of the year, also had to wipe away tears, while a red-eyed Hand and Moore fought to keep their composure.

“I’ve enjoyed every moment playing here. We’ve had our ups and downs — that’s going to happen — but I enjoyed it here at Chattanooga and I’m glad Coach Moore recruited me,” Hall said, struggling to get the words out. “I’m glad I got to play with Alex and Brooke and everybody else on my team.

“I just had a blast.”

The final two games of Hall’s career were among her best. In the SoCon tournament title game against Western Carolina, a team she routinely torched, she scored 22 points. Then she helped keep UTC in the Kansas State game late with her drives and pull-up jumpers, finishing with a team-high 19 points.

Anderson’s final game was less memorable, as she went 3-for-14 from the floor and finished with nine points and nine rebounds.

“For anybody else, that would be a good night,” Moore said. “We don’t get here without Alex Anderson.”

One sub-par game, at least by the lofty standards that Anderson has set, doesn’t come close to overshadowing all the 6-foot-1 forward accomplished in her career. She ranks fifth in career points at UTC with 1,732, second in rebounds (1,010) and first in blocked shots (221).

Hand made 3-point territory her home for four years and finished with 315 3s, the most of any player, male or female, in SoCon history.

“I knew they were going to be a special group when we recruited them,” Moore said. “And they’ve been all that and more.

“It’s kind of scary to think about playing without them, but that’s part of the college experience.”

The Lady Mocs’ cupboard won’t be bare after this season, however. Sophomore forward Shanara Hollinquest emerged as a premier post player in her own right, scoring a career-high 31 points at Georgia Southern on Feb. 25 and earning all-conference honors. Eagles coach Rusty Cram said he thought Hollinquest “has the potential to be even better than Anderson” by the time she’s done.

Fellow sophomore starter Jenaya Wade-Fray will also be back, as will key junior reserves Erin Ogan and LaCondra Mason.