TEMPE, Ariz. – An 18-point halftime lead put the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team in position for its second-ever trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
But the 13th-seeded Lady Mocs couldn’t withstand the charge of fourth-seeded Oklahoma State in the second half. The Cowgirls used their defense to get back in the game, forcing 16 second-half turnovers, and advanced with a 70-63 win Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Oklahoma State (23-10), which was playing without leading scorer Andrea Riley, hit just 6 of 35 shots in the first half. That, along with some sharp shooting by the Lady Mocs (24-8), allowed UTC to take a 37-19 lead at the break.
It was a totally different group of Cowgirls in the second half. Oklahoma State, playing with much more energy, used an attacking defense that rattled UTC to erase the deficit.
The Cowgirls tied the game at 48 with just over nine minutes remaining. They took their first lead since scoring the game’s first basket on two Megan Byford free throws with 7:47 left.
The teams traded baskets briefly before Oklahoma State surged to a 60-53 lead with 5:00 to play. The Lady Mocs cut the lead to 62-61 with 3:13 remaining, but the Cowgirls were able to close out the win.
Freshman Kayla Christopher led UTC with 15 points and nine rebounds. Two-time Southern Conference player of the year Shanara Hollinquest, a senior, finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds in her final game. It was her 18th double-double of the season.
Tegan Cunningham led the Cowgirls with 25 points, 19 in the second half, and Toni Young scored 22.
For more, read tomorrow’s Times Free Press. You can also follow John Frierson’s coverage of the Mocs at twitter.com/mocsbeat and facebook.com/mocsbeatTFP.