NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Paced by 27 points and 12 rebounds from Whitney Hood and 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting by Kylie Lambert, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team defeated host Cal State Northridge 74-68 in the consolation game Saturday of the Matadors’ Thanksgiving tournament.
Rebounding from a one-point loss Friday night against Wyoming, the Lady Mocs went ahead 6-2 on 3-point shots by Kiara Smith and led by as much as 27-20. Northridge (0-6) trailed 34-29 at halftime but fought back to a 50-50 tie before a Lambert 3-pointer gave UTC (2-4) the lead for good.
A Hood layup from a Kayla Christopher assist gave the Lady Mocs a 70-60 cushion with 2:08 to play.
Lambert was 4-for-4 on 3s and added six rebounds. Christopher had five assists and Hood and Tenisha Townsend had four and three.
Janelle Nomura scored 24 points with 13-of-14 free-throw shooting and Jasmine Erving had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Northridge.
UTC 74, CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 68
UTC (2-4)
Hood 10-19 7-8 27, Smith 2-7 0-0 6, Christopher 2-7 1-2 6, Townsend 2-6 1-2 7, Lambert 7-7 3-6 21, Black 1-6 0-0 2, Dewart 1-2 2-2 2, Downes 0-0 0-0 0, Tucker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 14-20 74.
Cal State Northridge (0-6)
Alama 4-12 1-2 9, Ervis 8-16 0-0 16, White 2-6 0-0 4, Thomson 3-7 0-0 6, Nomura 5-7 13-14 24, McIntyre 1-2 0-0 3, Viena-Lota 1-7 2-2 4, Conejo 1-4 0-0 2, Simmons 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-62 16-18 68.
Halftime: UTC, 34-29. 3-point goals: UTC 10-24 (Lambert 4-4, Smith 2-7, Townsend 2-6, Christopher 1-4, Dewart 1-1, Black 0-2); CSN 2-10 (Nomura 1-2, McIntyre 1-2, Alama 0-1, White 0-1, Thomson 0-1, Conejo 0-1, Viena-Lota 0-1, Simmons 0-1). Rebounds: UTC 32 (Hood 12, Lambert 6); CSN 39 (Erving 13, Alama 10). Assists: UTC 17 (Christopher 5, Hood 4, Townsend 3); CSN 16 (White 6, Nomura 4). Steals: UTC 3 (Christopher, Black, Dewart); CSN 1 (Nomura). Blocks: UTC 0; CSN 1 (Alama). Total fouls: UTC 13, CSN 14. Fouled out: None.