Chattanooga Hands Davidson a 76-69 Defeat in SoCon Play

Calendar

Women's Basketball

Wed. Oct 29

7:00 PM

Women's Basketball

Mon. Nov 3

TBA

Women's Basketball

Thu. Nov 6

7:00 PM

Women's Basketball

Sat. Nov 8

7:00 PM

Women's Basketball

Wed. Nov 12

6:30 PM

Women's Basketball

Sun. Nov 16

1:00 PM

Women's Basketball

Thu. Nov 20

6:30 PM

Box Score

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- In a second half that was highlighted by runs, the Chattanooga Mocs used a 13-5 stretch midway through the half to open up a close game sending Davidson to its second Southern Conference loss with a 76-69 decision on Saturday afternoon at McKenzie Arena in women's basketball action.

The Wildcats placed three players in double figures with junior Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) dropping in a career-best tying 24 points, but Chattanooga's Shanara Hollinquest countered Lax with a 30-point effort, finishing with 35 points in leading the Mocs.

Davidson, which had won its first seven league games, dropped to 7-2 against the SoCon and 8-10 overall. Chattanooga moved into a tie with Samford, which also played this afternoon, at 8-1 in the league and 12-6 overall.

The second half started out with an 10-2 Moc run that pushed Chattanooga's lead out to 11 (41-29), followed by a 14-5 Davidson run that brought the Wildcats right back at 46-43 with 11:52 left.

Then leading by three coming out of the media timeout, Hollinquest scored five straight Moc points to start a 13-5 spurt that pushed the lead back out to 11 with 7:02 left in the game. The Mocs' post player scored nine points in the run, seven of them coming at the charity stripe.

Overall, Hollinquest got 15 of her career-high 35 points from the free throw line as she went 15-of-17 to pace the Mocs to a 26-for-35 showing on their free throw shooting. Meanwhile, Davidson stepped to the line just five times hitting all five.

Not backing down after trailing by 11, Davidson came back with one more run of its own to bring it within five points at 66-61 and just 1:12 on the clock. Senior Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) got things going with a bucket inside and the Wildcats rattled off an 18-7 spurt from the 6:50 mark to the 1:12 mark.

Unfortunately, time was not on the Wildcats side and they got no closer than the five points, and Chattanooga finished it off by going a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line to close the game at 76-69.

Besides Lax's 24, Robinson finished with 18 points, 10 of them coming in the second half, to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. Junior Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) closed with 16 points to give Davidson its three double-figure scorers. Thompson earned 11 of her points in the last six minutes in helping the Wildcats get to within five.

Hollinquest got things rolling in the first half by netting eight of the Mocs' first 10 points for an early 10-7 lead.

Later, she scored seven straight after a layup by Bailey Dewart, and sparked a 10-2 run with a three-pointer that pushed the Mocs' lead out to nine at 26-17 with 2:53 left in the period.

Lax and Robinson made sure Davidson kept within striking distance though as duo combined for 21 points in the first half. Robinson went on a stretch where she scored eight of 10 Wildcat points in the middle parts of the half, while Lax found her stroke from downtown by draining three treys to picked up 13 first-half points. The sophomore shooting guard hit five three-pointers in all, and Davidson as a team went 8-for-14 from behind the arc.

Lax's three-ball at the 2:28 mark halted a Mocs' run, and she then canned another one a minute later to bring the Wildcats within three at 28-25. A running layup by Amanda Ottaway (Hollidaysburg, Pa.) finished out the scoring for Davidson as it trailed 31-27 at the half.

The Wildcats will next head to Birmingham, Ala. to play Samford for the first time in program history, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m. (EST).

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results