SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team ran its winning streak to 19 games Monday evening, pulling away to defeat Wofford 64-48.
It was a far cry from the teams' first meeting, won 75-36 by the Mocs on Jan. 18, but it was their 31st consecutive Southern Conference victory.
Taylor Hall led the Mocs (23-3, 15-0) with 25 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two assists. She sat out the final 16:16 of the first half after getting her second foul but played all 20 minutes after halftime -- even moving to point guard.
"Our point guards did not do a very good job today," UTC coach Jim Foster explained on the postgame radio broadcast. "As a result, I just sat them and made Taylor play the point guard in the second half. The point is, the point guard should take charge of the game. They both had an opportunity. Chelsey [Shumpert] is a freshman; Red [Payne] gets excitable, and we didn't need that today. We needed a steady and calm hand.
"The beauty of Taylor is that she can play four positions. She played a new one today and did it very well."
Wofford led twice in the first minutes of the second half, and it wasn't until a 14-4 UTC run midway through the half that the league champions were able to build a double-digit lead. Sixteen Wofford turnovers resulted in 21 points for the Mocs. They had 17 points on 10 Terriers turnovers in the second half.
Alex Black added 10 points for UTC, while Ashlen Dewart had a season-high 12 rebounds. Jordan Frazier led Wofford (5-19, 3-11) with 17 points.
"Sometimes players view themselves how they play offensively -- how many points they score," Foster said of Dewart. "She did not necessarily put the ball in the basket. She just dominated the glass."
The Mocs have their final road test Monday, traveling to Birmingham to take on Samford.