For video of UNCG coach Lynne Agee's postgame comments, click here.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Chattanooga picked up its 11th straight win over UNCG on Saturday, surviving the Spartans' second-half rally to pick up a 65-53 win and spoil Senior Day at Fleming Gymnasium.
Prior to the game, UNCG honored seniors Amanda Leigh, Monique Floyd and Kendra Smith, as well as junior Agneta Morkunaite, who will graduate a year ahead of schedule.
UNCG drew 528 fans for its annual Pack the House game, good for the 11th-largest crowd in school history. The Spartans drew a school-record 713 against College of Charleston on Feb. 12.
Sarah Folwell scored a season-high 10 points for the Spartans (13-13, 10-8 Southern Conference) but she was the only UNCG player in double figures. Smith, Dayshaun Richbow and Jazz Weaver finished with eight points each.
Whitney Hood, the SoCon's leading scorer, had a game-high 18 for the Lady Mocs (14-13, 11-7 SoCon), who also got a career-high 14 from Capriee Tucker, 11 from Tenisha Townsend and 10 from Kayla Christopher. Tucker played a career-high 16 minutes thanks to some early foul trouble for Hood.
Chattanooga was lights out from the floor in the first half, shooting 68.4 percent. The Spartans hung tough, however, leading for much of the opening frame before the Lady Mocs finished the first half on an 8-3 to take a 34-30 lead into the locker room.
The rally bridged halftime, as Chattanooga opened the second frame on a 12-0 run to blow the game open. Hood, who was limited to just 4 minutes in the first half thanks to a pair of early fouls, quickly made her presence felt in the second half, scoring nine of the Lady Mocs' points in the opening spurt. Overall, she had 11 of their first 14 points in the second half.
A pair of Breonna Patterson free throws finally got UNCG on the board in the second half, but by then, the damage had been done. Freshman Janae' Stevenson's layup with 12:26 left was UNCG's first field goal of the second frame, and capped a field goal drought of 8 minutes, 56 seconds dating back to the first half.
Chattanooga stretched its lead to as many as 19 in the second half, as a Hood layup made it 60-41 with 5:11 to play.
The Spartans did mount a rally in the waning minutes, however, cutting the Lady Mocs' lead to 10 points with just over a minute to play.
A Floyd jumper got the spurt going, and Richbow added a layup off a Chattanooga turnover. A Floyd steal led to a Smith 3-pointer, and after a Townsend free throw, Folwell hit a 3 from the corner to make it a 61-51 game with 1:18 to go, capping a 10-1 UNCG run.
UNCG would be unable to get any closer than that, never getting back within single digits in the last few minutes of play.
The Spartans did force 18 Chattanooga turnovers, converting them into 24 points. The Lady Mocs entered the contest third in the nation with just 13.2 turnovers per game.
"I'm disappointed in the overall performance," UNCG coach Lynne Agee said. "I don't think we had the intensity we needed in a game like this against Chattanooga. We had an opportunity to try and get ourselves in fourth position (in the SoCon), secure that and move on, and that didn't happen. So, we have our work ahead of us.
"We were balanced again. We have a lot of people contributing, and we had a true team effort."
The Spartans and Lady Mocs were tied for fourth in the league entering the contest. Chattanooga is now tied with Elon, which lost to Samford on Saturday, while UNCG is now alone in fifth place in the league standings.
UNCG has a quick turnaround, as it hosts Samford for the final home contest of the season on Monday at 3 p.m.
AGATE
CHATTANOOGA 65, UNCG 53
CHATTANOOGA (14-13, 11-7SoCon)
HOOD, Whitney 8-13 2-3 18; TUCKER, Capriee 5-5 4-5 14; TOWNSEND, Tenisha 2-6 5-6 11; CHRISTOPHER, Kayla 4-10 1-2 10; DEWART, Bailey 3-6 0-0 8; HALL, Taylor 1-2 0-1 2; LAMBERT, Kylie 1-3 0-0 2; BRAMBLETT, Destiny 0-0 0-0 0; BLACK, Alex 0-0 0-0 0; DOWNES, Meghan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-45 12-17 65.
UNCG (13-13, 10-8SoCon)
Sarah Folwell 3-4 2-3 10; Kendra Smith 3-9 0-0 8; Jazz Weaver 4-8 0-0 8; Dayshaun Richbow 4-6 0-2 8; Amanda Leigh 3-6 1-2 7; Monique Floyd 3-11 0-1 6; Janae' Stevenson 1-3 0-1 2; Sidnei Harmon 1-2 0-0 2; Breonna Patterson 0-8 2-2 2; Nneka Awuruonye 0-0 0-0 0; Amy Clapper 0-0 0-0 0; Brey Dorsett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-58 5-11 53.
Chattanooga................... 34 31 - 65
UNCG.......................... 30 23 - 53
3-point goals--Chattanooga 5-13 (DEWART, Bailey 2-3; TOWNSEND, Tenisha 2-5; CHRISTOPHER, Kayla 1-5), UNCG 4-15 (Sarah Folwell 2-2; Kendra Smith 2-4; Amanda Leigh 0-2; Breonna Patterson 0-6; Jazz Weaver 0-1). Fouled out--Chattanooga-None, UNCG-None. Rebounds--Chattanooga 35 (HALL, Taylor 10), UNCG 29 (Monique Floyd 6). Assists--Chattanooga 11 (CHRISTOPHER, Kayla 4), UNCG 9 (Dayshaun Richbow 4). Total fouls--Chattanooga 11, UNCG 16. Technical fouls--Chattanooga-None, UNCG-None. A-528
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