Bengals overcome Lady Mocs, 65-62

CANCUN, Mexico -- Idaho State handed the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team a 65-62 loss Thursday in the Cancun Challenge at the Moon Palace Resort.

UTC (2-2) committed only 13 turnovers in the game, but a trio in the final two minutes preserved the win for the Bengals (3-2).

Kayla Christopher led the Lady Mocs with 21 points, hitting 8 of 13 shots. Whitney Hood scored 13 despite more first-half foul trouble, and Taylor Hall added 11 points and five rebounds.

The Lady Mocs surged midway through the first half and led 28-14 with 5:17 remaining. The Bengals rallied to cut the margin to 32-27 at the halftime and kept the momentum on their side with a 15-5 run to start the second half.

Kaela Oakes and Lindsey Reed scored 19 points each to lead ISU.

A Hood layup tied the game at 55 with a little more than five minutes remaining, and the Bengals answered with a quick 6-0 spurt. UTC was just 6-of-20 on 3-pointers, but one by Hall made it a 61-60 game.

UTC had the ball with less than two minutes left when Kylie Lambert was called for a charge and fouled out of the game. Down three with less than 20 seconds to play, UTC had the ball with a chance to tie, but Christopher was called for traveling.

The score was still 65-62 when UTC got the ball back with just over three seconds left and another turnover doomed the Lady Mocs, who will face Cincinnati today at 5 p.m.