Hood paces Lady Mocs

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team showed promise and problems Thursday in its 65-49 exhibition win over Lee University at McKenzie Arena.

The Lady Mocs dominated the first five minutes, jumping to a 16-0 lead. After that, it was an up-and-down ride for coach Wes Moore and his team.

UTC led by 30 with 14:01 remaining before the Lady Flames cut the margin to 58-44 with 5:49 to play, prompting Moore to send the starters back in to end the surge.

Most of the Lady Mocs' sloppy stretches came with at least one of the five freshmen on the floor.

"At times they showed their youth and panicked and acted like the ball was a hot potato and they had to get rid of it," Moore said.

Forward Whitney Hood, the Clemson transfer who sat out last season, led UTC with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

"It felt great," said Hood, the sister of former Moc Ricky Hood. "I was excited and nervous all day."

Said Moore: "I told her before the game that she ought to get 20 and she did, so she's very coachable. That's good."

The Lady Mocs also got solid performances from guards Kayla Christopher and Tenisha Townsend, UTC's only returning starters. Christopher hit three 3-point baskets and scored 15 points, while Townsend hit three 3s and totaled 14.

"Tenisha Townsend, I thought, had a great first half [with 12 points] and played really well," Moore said. "Kayla was Kayla, [and] obviously we need that from her on a consistent basis."

After being out since the first week of practice with a broken toe, sophomore Kylie Lambert was cleared to play Wednesday and was on the floor for 22 minutes. She hit a 3 and grabbed six rebounds.

"It was definitely a transition from sitting out for about three weeks to coming in and having to play quite a bit more than I'd expected," Lambert said.

Guard Meghan Downes led the five freshmen with five points in 22 minutes. Moore said all the freshmen need to move past the "deer in the headlights" phase.

Lee guard Brooke McKinnon led all scorers with 23 points.

The Lady Mocs open their season on Nov. 12 against East Tennessee State.

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