MURFREESBORO, Tenn. --- Middle Tennessee held off a late second half rally to defeat Chattanooga 73-65 in women's basketball action Tuesday night at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Despite a 53.6 percent second half performance by the Lady Mocs (1-2), Middle Tennessee's (3-1) defense proved to be too much as they scored 31 points on 23 turnovers. Alysha Clark led all scorers with 25 points and was 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the second half.
Chattanooga got on the board first with a jumper from junior Shanara Hollinquest nearly 1:30 into the game. The Blue Raiders responded with a 3-pointer from Brandi Brown to take the lead and Hollinquest would tie it up on a free throw just 30 seconds later. After MTSU built up a four-point lead Hollinquest would cut the score to two on a jumper at the 13:04 mark of the first half and junior Tagan Hatchett connected on a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Lady Mocs their final lead of the game at 11-10 with 12:35 to play in the first half.
Middle Tennessee mounted a 16-2 run for their largest lead of the half at 26-13 wih 5:43 to go in the opening stanza. Chattanooga cut the lead, however, outscoring MTSU 15-9 over the remainder of the half to go into the locker room at halftime down by 35-28.
The second half started with the Raiders building its lead to 19 points on an 18-6 run. The Lady Mocs battled back to cut the lead to 55-46 on a 12-2 run. Chattanooga would only get as close as six on a 3-pointer from Erin Ogan down the stretch as Middle continued to press.
Ogan led the Lady Mocs with 15 points and eight rebounds while Hollinquest just missed her third consecutive double-double with 13 points and nine boards. Junior Jenaya Wade-Fray was the third UTC player in double digits with 10 points while senior LaCondra Mason, who made her first trip back to the mid-state since transferring from MTSU, had seven points eight rebounds and a team-high four assists.
The Lady Mocs outrebounded Middle Tennessee 42-33 and had 20 second chance points on 17 offensive boards. Chattanooga's bench, which contributed 31 points against Tennessee last week, had just 13 points tonight.
Chattanooga will return home to host Akron, Troy and Richmond in the DoubleTree Classic beginning Friday, Nov. 28. Troy and Richmond will play in the opener at 5 p.m. while the Lady Mocs will take on the Zips in the nightcap. Call the McKenzie Arena box office at 266-MOCS (6627) or go online to the official website of Chattanooga athletics, GoMocs.com for ticket information.
