 |  |
Lady Paladins Fall 96-66 at Chattanooga
Dec. 22, 2004
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - A barrage of Chattanooga three-pointers, led by freshman Brooke Hand who made five treys on the night, keyed a 96-66 Lady Moc victory over the Furman Lady Paladins Wednesday night in McKenzie Arena. With the win, UTC improved to 10-2 overall and 5-0 in the Southern Conference, while Furman fell to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in league play.
Poor Furman rebounding and early foul trouble for point guard Tommi Paris, combined with 12 Lady Paladin turnovers and six first-half Moc three-pointers to give UTC the early lead, which they stretched to 16 by the halftime break. Laney Harris kept Furman in the game with 11 first-half points, but UTC point guard Laura Hall tallied 13, six of which came from beyond the arc. The Mocs had little trouble with the Furman press and outdid the Lady Paladins 21-13 on the boards, where they were led by Nicole Mattison's six.
The Lady Paladins made just five turnovers in the second period and shot 53.6% (15-of-28) from the field, but UTC tossed in nine second-half three-pointers and shot 51.2% (21-of-41) from the field to stretch their lead to as many as 32. A Laney Harris three-pointer with 18 seconds left cut the UTC lead to 27, but UTC freshman Amy Mohr popped one more Moc trey at the buzzer to gain the final margin.
In the game, UTC outrebounded the Lady Paladins 45-25 and connected on 15 three-pointers. The Mocs were the second Furman opponent of the year to top 90 points in a game, coming up two short of the 98 scored by Georgia in the season opener.
"Tommi's early foul trouble was tough for us because she gives us great leadership and ball control," said Sam Dixon, "But UTC is a great team with great three-point shooting, great defense, and no weaknesses. They are the best team in the Southern Conference and maybe in the Southeast."
The Lady Paladins were led on the night by Harris' 18 points and Chrissy Phelps 15. Harris also totaled three blocks and claimed a team-best seven rebounds, while Phelps dished off six of Furman's nine assists on the night.
UTC was led by Laura Hall, who totaled 18 points, while Brooke Hand added 17 and Tiffani Roberson contributed 10. Shamya Sermons claimed nine rebounds and Nicole Mattison dished off a team-best 10 assists.
After a break for the Christmas Holiday, the Lady Paladins return to action on Dec. 29, with a 5 p.m. (CST) game against Alabama State at the UAB Blazer Invitational.
