Staff Report
STATESBORO, Ga. — The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team’s first win of 20 or more points this season came Saturday in an unlikely location, Georgia Southern’s Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Southern Conference-leading Lady Mocs got 20 points from Jenaya Wade-Fray and steamrolled the Eagles 70-48 for their 13th consecutive win.
“I wouldn’t have guessed that if you’d told me that at the beginning of the season, that’s for sure,” said UTC coach Wes Moore, whose team hasn’t lost since Dec. 17.
The Lady Mocs (18-6, 13-2) have a two-game lead in the SoCon standings with five games to play heading into Monday’s game at College of Charleston. The Cougars and Samford are tied for second following the Bulldogs’ 57-50 win in Charleston on Saturday.
Wade-Fray was 7-for-15 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds to lead a balanced UTC attack. Shanara Hollinquest added 13 points and 10 rebounds, Kayla Christopher scored 12 points, going 4-for-6 from 3-point range, and Michelle Davis contributed nine points, eight rebounds and four steals.
The Lady Mocs shot 50.9 percent from the field, hit 10 of 23 3-pointers and had 13 steals.
“We’re playing well and we’d like to bottle it up and keep it for a couple of months,” Moore said.
Georgia Southern (13-10, 8-6) came into the game leading the SoCon in scoring defense. The Eagles were holding opponents to 56.5 points per game, but the Lady Mocs surpassed that number on a Christopher 3 that made the score 57-39 with 8:13 left in the game.
The Lady Mocs didn’t do too much more offensively after that, but they didn’t need to. UTC took control of the game with a 22-6 surge during the final seven minutes of the opening half and led 40-24 at the break.
Carolyn Whitney scored 14 points to lead Georgia Southern, which shot just 36.4 percent from the field.