Women's Basketball Southern Conference

Chattanooga Loses to Clemson in Final Seconds of Mideast Regional

Chattanooga's Tishay Lewis (22
drives for the basket around
Clemson's Erin Batth in the
first half of a women's
first-round NCAA
Mideast tournament game
in Cincinnati, Friday
March 16, 2001.
(AP Photo/Mike Simmons)
Clemson 51,
Chattanooga 49
(insert) TotalCast Stats

CINCINNATI (AP) - Nuria Forns made two free throws with less than a second left to give Clemson a 51-49 victory over Tennessee-Chattanooga in the first round of the Mideast Regional on Friday night.

Clemson will play either Louisville or Xavier in the second round Sunday.

Forns finished with 16 points, and Erin Batth had 11 for fifth-seeded Clemson (21-9). Damita Bullock scored 19 points for Chattanooga (24-7).

Clemson trailed most of the game, leading only briefly midway through the first half and again on a basket and free throw by Batth with 1:48 to play.

Bullock made a pair of free throws to put Chattanooga up by one, but Forns responded with a 3-pointer to give Clemson a 49-47 lead with 1:27 left.

A basket by Bullock tied it at 49 with 1:01 to play, and a steal by Bullock with 30 seconds left let Chattanooga play for the last shot.

Bullock missed as the buzzer sounded, but an offensive foul was called on Chattanooga's Tishay Lewis under the basket and 0.8 seconds were put back on the clock.

Forns then hit both free throws.

Chattanooga inbounded the ball and tried a full-court pass, but was unable to get a shot off before time expired.