Box Score
GREENSBORO, NC Chattanooga won its 27th straight Southern Conference women's basketball game tonight at Fleming Gym, but it wasn't easy as UNC Greensboro gave the five-time defending SoCon champions all they could handle in a 71-62 Mocs win in the league opener for the Spartans.
UNCG (2-5, 0-1 SoCon) guard Kristen Boone knocked down a jumper with 1:11 remaining to square the game for the eighth and final time, 62-62, but UTC scored the last nine points of the night on seven free throw's and a layup by KeKe McWilliams that put the Mocs up 65-62 with one minute left. Down the other end of the court, Boone had a decent look at a 3-pointer to tie the game up but it wasn't to be as UTC extended its league unbeaten streak that dates back to February 6, 2003.
Boone, a freshman from Upper Marlboro, MD, and KaLeah Latham, a sophomore that hails from
Athens, TN, notched career-highs with 14 and 13 points respectively to pace the Spartans. Amanda Eaton added a season-high 11 points. The senior point guard from Wheeling, WV canned one 3-pointer to set the UNCG career record with 136.
Nicole Mattison led UTC with 20 points, while Katasha Brown, the SoCon preseason player of the year, added 17 points. Tifffany Patton had 11 points.
UNCG fought back from an eight point, 37-29, deficit at halftime to lead by as much as four, 57-53, on a layup by Boone with 5:44 left in regulation. The bucket by Boone capped a 27-12 run by the Spartans that erased a 41-30 Mocs' lead just 1:31 into the second half. Boone scored the final seven points of the night for UNCG.
Alex Anderson and Brown followed with a 3-pointer and a layup on back-to-back possessions to give UTC a 58-57 lead with 4:42 showing on the clock. The game would see saw back and fourth the next three plus minutes, featuring three ties, the last coming on Boone's jumper that knotted the game 62-62.
In the first half, Latham scored seven quick points in the first four minutes of the game to give UNCG a 9-6 lead. The Spartans held an 18-15 lead midway through the opening stanza, but UTC went into the break on a 22-11 run to lead 37-29 at intermission.
The Spartans shot a season-best 45.1 (23-for-51) percent from the floor and continued their fine shooting from the charity stripe, knocking down 13-of-15 on the night. UNCG forced 22 UTC turnovers, including eight in the first six minutes of the second half that propelled UNCG back into the game.
UNCG will host visit Southern Conference foe Appalachian State on Saturday, December 18 in Boone, NC at 5:15 pm.
AGATE:
CHATTANOOGA 71, UNC GREENSBORO 62
CHATTANOOGA (7-2, 2-0 SoCon)
Mattison, Nicole 6-11 7-8 20; Brown, Katasha 7-15 1-4 17; Patton, Tiffany 4-5 3-3 11; Anderson, Alex 3-4 1-2 8; Roberson, Tiffani 4-9 0-0 8; Hand, Brooke 1-3 0-0 3; McWilliams, KeKe 1-1 0-0 2; Hall, Laura 1-4 0-0 2; Sippel, Lyndi 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-54 12-17 71.
UNC GREENSBORO (2-5, 0-1 SoCon)
Boone, Kristen 5-11 4-5 14; Latham, KaLeah 6-7 0-0 13; Eaton, Amanda 4-10 2-2 11; Britt, Stephanie 2-4 2-2 6; Byrd, Jasmine 2-11 0-0 5; Brooks, Kemena 1-2 2-2 4; Current, Ashley 1-1 2-2 4; Blair, Caroline 1-1 1-2 3; Dixon Jasmine 1-2 0-0 2; Jackson, Shanika 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-51 13-15 62.
Chattanooga................... 37 34 - 71
UNC Greensboro........... 29 33 - 62
Halftime: Chattanooga 37, UNC Greensboro 27. 3-point goals-Chattanooga 5-12 (Brown, Katasha 2-6; Anderson, Alex 1-1; Hand, Brooke 1-2; Mattison, Nicole 1-1; Hall, Laura 0-2), UNC Greensboro 3-12 (Byrd, Jasmine 1-5; Eaton, Amanda 1-5; Latham, KaLeah 1-1; Boone, Kristen 0-1). Fouled out--Chattanooga-Roberson, Tiffani, UNC Greensboro-Blair, Caroline. Rebounds-Chattanooga 33 (Roberson, Tiffani 7), UNC Greensboro 27 (Blair, Caroline 6). Assists-Chattanooga 12 (Mattison, Nicole 4), UNC Greensboro 11 (Eaton, Amanda 3; Chamberlain, Meghan 3; Byrd, Jasmine 3). Total fouls-Chattanooga 16, UNC Greensboro 18. A-116.
- UNCG -
