It took a number of rallies, but the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team managed to extend its win streak to 20 games with a 74-67 double-overtime defeat of Samford in a Southern Conference battle Monday evening in Birmingham, Ala.
The Mocs’ 32nd consecutive win in conference play made them 24-3 overall and 16-0 in the SoCon. They finish the regular season with home games against Elon on Friday and UNC Greensboro on Sunday afternoon.
Taylor Hall had 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals, but it was the big-shot abilities of Chelsey Shumpert and Alex Black that provided a huge difference.
The host Bulldogs (9-18, 7-9) took the lead midway through the second half and held a 54-49 advantage with 2:16 left to play. Black hit a pair of free throws with 1:24 left, and Shumpert split a pair with 21 seconds to go. After a Samford turnover, UTC coach Jim Foster drew up a play for Black, and the senior hit a foul-line jumper to send the game into overtime.
The Bulldogs led 60-58 lead in the first overtime, but Shumpert nailed a 3-pointer. Samford’s Lydia McGee hit a pair of free throws with 35 seconds to go to put her team back on top, but the Mocs’ Ka’Vonne Towns was fouled with 15 seconds remaining and hit the first of two free throws to force a second session.