UTC Mocs logoGREENSBORO, N.C. - A 15-0 run in the first half and a 13-0 surge in the second helped the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team cruise to a 76-46 win against UNC Greensboro on Saturday at Fleming Gymnasium.
In the first of 18 straight Southern Conference games for the Lady Mocs (10-2, 3-0), they got 19 points from guard Kayla Christopher and hit 51.5 percent of their shots. Center Ashlen Dewart had 14 points, part of a dominating 38-18 UTC advantage in the paint.
"I do like the way we came out right from the get-go, played well and got some momentum going," UTC coach Wes Moore said in a phone interview. "When we played them here last year, we were down [20-5] to start the game [before winning 63-46]. It was a little bit nicer way to start."
UTC led 9-8 with 14:05 left in the first half when it on a 15-0 run during the next five-plus minutes. The Spartans (3-9, 0-3) answered with a 10-0 burst to cut the margin to 24-18. That was followed by an 11-2 UTC spurt to end the half with the Lady Mocs up 36-20.
"Basketball is a game of streaks, a game of runs, and you want to minimize the other team's and exploit and make the most of your own," Moore said.
The Lady Mocs' lead never dropped below 15 points in the second half as they won for the 14th straight time against the Spartans. UTC hit 19 of 32 shots in the second half.
Alex Black and Ka'Vonne Towns had nine points each and Tatianna Jackson added eight points and seven rebounds in the win. Freshman Alicia Payne scored the first points of her career on a jump shot with 8:01 to play. She was 0-for-4 from the field coming into the game.
UTC visits Elon (5-7, 2-1) on Monday.