Chattanooga 73, Clemson 64
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? Chattanooga junior Alex Anderson led all scorers with a career-high 24 points and 18 rebounds as the Lady Mocs downed Clemson 73-64 in a non conference game Thursday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
“It’s a good win. Anytime you can beat an ACC team, it’s a good win,” Lady Mocs head coach Wes Moore said. “I understand that Clemson is going through rebuilding, but a win like this means a lot to our kids and our program.”
Anderson put together an eight point run at the start of the game to give the Lady Mocs a 10-8 lead then closed out the contest scoring 10 of Chattanooga’s last 12 points in the second half.
Brooke Hand balanced Anderson’s inside game, sinking a career-high seven 3-pointers. After missing her first four attempts, the next one tied the game at 24-24. She followed that with another to give UTC (2-1) a 27-24 lead with 4:05 to play in the first half. Hand sank five in the second half for 21 points, shooting 7-of-14 on the night.
“I’m concerned when we only have two people in double figures,” Moore said. “That’s not the Chattanooga way. We’ve been very balanced in the past. We have some other kids who can step up.”
Laura Hall had a pair of crucial 3-pointers and scored eight points on the night with a team-high four assists. Jenaya Wade-Fray grabbed seven boards, scoring five points while Kristen Spann, making her first start this season, tossed in seven points and had three boards.
After leading 32-29 at the half, the Lady Mocs spread their lead to 41-31 with back-to-back three’s from Hand. The Tigers would cut the lead to six, then Chattanooga took control going on a 16-5 run to grab its largest lead of the game, 59-42, midway through the second half.
The Lady Mocs kept the lead in the double digits until a jumper from Christy Brown got Clemson to within eight at 67-59 with 3:51 to play.
“It wasn’t very pretty, especially down the stretch,” Moore said. “For six or seven minutes we were playing not to lose. You have to do that sometimes with clock management. We made some mistakes, Clemson will make you do that with their athleticism and quickness.”
The Tigers got as close as 69-62 with 2:42 to play, but Anderson put it away sinking all four of her free throw attempts in the final 1:50.
In the first half, Chattanooga went 4-for-12 from the free throw line but got it together making 5-of-8 in the second half. The Lady Mocs outrebounded Clemson 52-44 and shot 46.6 percent from the floor.
Clemson (1-2), led by Tasha Taylor’s 18 points, shot 31.0 percent on the night. Christy Brown was the only other Tiger in double figure scoring with 10 points. Lele Hardy had a team-high 10 rebounds and led Clemson with five assists and three steals.
The Tigers went 8-for-13 from the free throw line and had 17 second half points to Chattanooga’s 10. The Lady Mocs gave up 20 points on 23 turnovers and allowed the Tigers to get 20 offensive boards.
Chattanooga will remain on the road, traveling to Birmingham for a Monday night contest at UAB. The game will tip at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Coastal Carolina 70, College of Charleston 56
Charleston, S.C. ? Despite a career-high 11 points by Deidra Jones, the College of Charleston women’s basketball team did not have an answer for Coastal Carolina’s Alisha Dill’s 26 points and fell 70-56 in action tonight in front of 486 fans at the John Kresse Arena.
The Chanticleers open the season 1-0, while the Cougars drop their second game to go to 1-2 on the year.
After shooting just 36.4 percent in the first half the Cougars entered intermission down 33-21. The Cougars would rebound to shoot 48.4 percent in the second half to finish the game with 43.4 percent from the floor, but they couldn’t overcome the 12-point deficit and a strong Coastal Carolina offense. The Chanticleers only improved as the night went on as they shot 43.3 percent in the first and 61.9 in the second for 51.0 percent for the game.
The Cougars out-rebounded the Chanticleers 37-28, and were fairly even on turnovers, with Charleston holding the 16-14 edge.
Leading Charleston was Melissa Chambers with 14 points. She was followed by Jones with her 11. Nikki Williams paced the Cougars in rebounds with seven.
Following Dill’s 26 points for the Chanticleers was Calisha Yates and her 14 on the night. Yates also led in rebounds with six on the night.
The Cougars take a week off before heading to New York, N.Y. for the LIU Tournament. Charleston faces South Alabama in the first game Nov. 24th at 2:00 p.m.