CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston women’s basketball team handed the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga its first Southern Conference loss of the season Thursday night at Carolina First Arena.
The Cougars surged to a 13-point lead midway through the second half and held off a late Lady Mocs push for a 56-50 win.
The Lady Mocs (3-6, 1-1) held Charleston to three points in the final six minutes but weren’t able to close the gap all the way. Whitney Hood led UTC with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“Give them a lot of credit: They did a great job defensively and we struggled to put up points,” UTC coach Wes Moore said in a phone interview.
After losing 17 straight games to UTC, the Cougars (4-5, 1-1) have won three of the last four meetings.
The Cougars came into the game averaging 49 points per game, the fewest in the SoCon. They passed that mark on a Tonia Gerty basket with 7:11 to play. Janae Smith hit a jumper to give the Cougars their largest lead, 53-40, with 6:19 remaining.
Freshman Taylor Hall, who joined the Lady Mocs on Wednesday, made her first appearance in the second half. She hit a 3-point basket with 4:48 left to cut the Cougars’ lead to 53-47.
Moore said he didn’t plan to play Hall, “but I felt like I had to do something. I was throwing everything I can out there and hoping something sticks.”
Alex Black hit a 3 to make it 55-50 with 2:43 to play, but UTC got no closer.
The Lady Mocs will wrap up their season series with Georgia Southern in Statesboro on Saturday. UTC opened SoCon play on Dec. 4 with a 87-80 win over the Eagles.