Lady Mocs hammer Samford

The fact that Tagan Hatchett took the floor Saturday night said all you need to know about the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team's 92-62 rout Saturday of Samford.

"I knew if we got up a lot (coach Wes Moore) might stick me in for a little while," Hatchett said. "It was pretty neat to be able to go out there."

In a season full of close Southern Conference games, Moore was able to empty his bench after the Lady Mocs delivered an emphatic closing statement in their regular-season finale in front of 2,396 at the Roundhouse.

Not only did UTC (21-8, 16-4) clinch the SoCon championship outright with one of the team's finest performances of the season, but the Lady Mocs also avenged a 22-point loss at Samford (20-9, 14-6) on Nov. 30.

"We did think it was going to be a closer game, but I think we came out ready to play," senior Shanara Hollinquest said. "We clicked everywhere, defensively and offensively. It feels good to beat them, and it's payback, too."

The Lady Mocs, who will be the No. 1 seed in next week's SoCon tournament in Charlotte, were 12-for-22 from 3-point range, shot 57.7 percent from the field and outrebounded the Bulldogs 47-21.

"They haven't shot the ball extremely well, but they've still been winning," said Samford coach Mike Morris, whose team could have shared the SoCon crown with a win. "I knew at some point in time they were going to make shots. It was their night."

Freshman Erin Helton led the Lady Mocs with the finest game of her career. The 6-foot-2 forward had a career-high 17 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.

Helton provided the Lady Mocs with a huge lift off the bench in the first half after Hollinquest picked up her second foul with 10:18 left in the half. Helton had 10 points and five rebounds in 10 minutes, helping UTC to a 36-25 lead at the break.

It was a good night for the seniors, too. Hollinquest scored 16 points, Megan Rollins added 13 and Jenaya Wade-Fray had eight points, seven rebounds and nine assists.

Five Lady Mocs scored in double figures and seven had at least four rebounds. Hollinquest said it was the team's best all-around game of the season, a far cry from UTC's 74-52 early-season loss at Samford.

Instead, the game was quite similar to the regular-season finale a year ago when, with the SoCon title going to the winner, UTC trounced the Bulldogs in Birmingham, 72-48.

The Lady Mocs hit 26.7 percent of their shots in an overtime loss at Western Carolina on Monday, but it was a much different story Saturday. Three-pointers were going in, even banking in, from all over, and most everything that could go UTC's way, did just that.

"When you bank one in from the top of the key, when you have one glance off the glass from the dead corner, you know it's your night," Moore said.

Savannah Hill led Samford with 18 points. The Bulldogs will be the No. 2 seed in the SoCon tournament and will have to play at 9 a.m. Friday.

Upcoming Events