The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team opened play at the Texas-San Antonio Holiday Classic with a hard-fought 59-49 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Sunday afternoon.
Senior guard Ka'Vonne Towns battled through illness to lead the Mocs (10-3) with 17 points, and redshirt sophomore Sydney Vanlandingham scored 11 points -- all in the first half -- and the transfer from UT-Martin hit her first 3-pointer at UTC to break a 24-24 tie and give the Mocs the lead for good.
Both teams struggled on offense, shooting less than 35 percent from the field, but the Mocs made nine 3-pointers and 14-of-17 free throws to overcome the SIUE's 37-32 rebounding advantage.
The Cougars (5-7) were led by Shronda Butts with 13 points, and Micah Jones scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds.
UTC will be back in action Monday in the final day of the USTA Holiday Classic with a game at 1 p.m. Eastern against South Dakota.