With the win, Chattanooga will play the winner of No. 4 seed Appalachian State and No. 5 Elon on Sunday at 12 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Hall pulled down nine rebounds and dished out four assists, both of which were team highs. Gilbert hit 5-of-7 shots from the field to join Hall as the only Mocs in double figures, but all 11 Mocs that played made at least one field goal.

Anna Claire Knight dropped in 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Eagles in the loss.

Chattanooga pushed out to a 9-6 lead early on before holding Georgia Southern without a field goal for the next 10:47 and rattling off a 13-0 run to extend the Mocs’ lead to 22-6. Sierra Kirkland’s layup gave GSU its first made field goal in 15 shot attempts and provided an offensive spark for the Eagles, who cut the lead to 29-18 at the half.

The Mocs pushed their lead to 15 on a Chelsey Shumpert 3-pointer, but Georgia Southern began to chip away at the Mocs’ lead, eventually cutting it down to six on a layup from Angel McGowan to make it 50-44. On the next possession, Tatiana Jackson answered by banking in a 3 from deep as the shot clock expired that sparked a 7-0 Chattanooga run.

The Eagles tried to claw their way back, using three free throws from Lacie Dowling and a Knight 3-pointer to pull within nine. That was as close as GSU would get as the Mocs knocked down free throws to seal the game. 

Chattanooga shot 43.3 percent from the field and outrebounded the Eagles 38-30 in the victory. The Mocs also got nine total blocks in the contest, including four from freshman Jasmine Joyner and three from Hall. Despite missing 15 straight shots in the first half, Georgia Southern went 21-of-49 from the field to shoot 43 percent on the day. 

No. 5 Elon 59, No. 4 Appalachian State 56
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The fifth-seeded Elon Phoenix knocked off No. 4 seed Appalachian State 59-56 behind 14 points each from Kelsey Harris and Lauren Brown to advance to the semifinals of the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship.

The Phoenix will face No. 1 seed Chattanooga in the semifinals on Sunday at 12 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center.

With 3:07 left, Maryah Sydnor hit two free throws to put Appalachian State up 49-48, but Elon answered with back-to-back jumpers from Zora Stephenson and Harris to put the Phoenix up 52-49. Appalachian State’s Bria Huffman cut the lead to one on the next possession with a jumper of her own. Harris pushed the lead to three with a layup, but Katie Mallow sank a jumper with one minute left to make it 54-53.

Elon’s Lauren Brown managed to find her way through the defense for a layup to go up three, and a turnover and quick foul from Appalachian State put Harris at the charity stripe with just 22 seconds left to play. Harris hit one of two attempts to make it 57-53 before Mallow drained a 3-pointer to bring App within one with 11.7 seconds left. The Mountaineers fouled Sam Coffer with nine seconds left and the junior forward converted both shots to give Elon a 59-56 advantage.

Sydnor got a look on the game’s final play, but her last-second 3-point attempt couldn’t find the net, sealing the win for the Phoenix.

Sydnor led Appalachian State with 16 points, with Mallow chipping in 15 points and seven assists.

Brown scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, going 6-of-11 from the field in the final stanza. Harris found her scoring touch in the second half, as well, scoring nine of her 14 in the final 20 minutes. Harris also snagged a team-high nine rebounds in the win.

The Phoenix controlled the glass, grabbing 45 rebounds, including 14 offensive boards, to Appalachian State’s 30 total rebounds.