The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team clinched the program’s 11th consecutive Southern Conference regular-season championship Monday night with a 65-54 win over Davidson at McKenzie Arena and Appalachian State’s 66-55 win at Samford.
Monday’s results gave UTC a two-game lead in the SoCon standings with two games remaining, guaranteeing the Lady Mocs at least a share of the league title.
The Lady Mocs got 19 points and 13 rebounds from Shanara Hollinquest and 17 points from fellow senior Jenaya Wade-Fray against the Wildcats. Hollinquest recorded her 14th double-double of the season against a Davidson front line with a trio of players 6-foot-2 or taller.
“They do make you change your shot and they do block it sometimes,” said the 6-foot Hollinquest, who made 9 of 13 free throws, “but you just hope you can outquick them and get to the hole before they get to your ball.”
After leading by 21 points in the second half, UTC (20-7, 15-3) had to hold on in the closing minutes to give coach Wes Moore his 11th consecutive 20-win season.
“I let that monster get to me,” he said of his team’s annual success. “Sometimes I’m playing not to lose and I need to make sure I let them enjoy it a little bit and try to stay a little more positive. They’ve done a heck of a job and been through a lot of adversity with injuries and different things.”
The Lady Mocs won despite shooting just 32.3 percent for the game. Davidson was even worse at 30.4 percent.
A 21-5 run late in the half — Davidson went without a field goal for 6:52 — helped UTC take a 33-17 lead into the break. The lead would have been even bigger if UTC had shot better than 5-for-15 from the free-throw line.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well, but in the first half I thought we played great defense and did an awesome job on the boards,” Moore said. “And when you do those things, even when you’re not shooting it well, you have a chance to perform pretty well.”
Moore was less than thrilled with his team’s rebounding effort in the second half, but he said this late in the season “you try to grind it out.”
Freshman Kylie Lambert, who hit four 3s in UTC’s win over Appalachian State last Saturday, continued to play well at the offensive end Monday. She was 4-for-6 from the field in the first half, hitting two 3s, and finished with 10 points. It was her second straight game in double figures and the second of her career.
Megan Rollins had a quiet game on the offensive end, going 0-for-5 and scoring three points, but she was a force on the glass with a career-high 12 rebounds.
The Lady Mocs will play their final regular-season road game Monday at Western Carolina and will host Samford on Feb. 27 to close out the regular season. Samford and the College of Charleston can share the league title with UTC if they win their remaining games.