The Chattanooga women’s basketball concluded its string of four consecutive road games with a 70-60 overtime loss at Elon on Monday evening.
UTC (10-3, 3-1 Southern Conference), which held a two-point lead late in regulation, allowed Elon’s Kelsey Evans to grab a crucial offensive rebound and put back with six seconds to play, knotting things up. The Lady Phoenix outscored Chattanooga 12-2 in the overtime period, and eventually rolled to a double-digit victory
“It is very disappointing because there’s a very small margin for error,” UTC head coach Wes Moore said. “Last year we lost the regular-season championship game by one. You can’t afford to let one get away like we did tonight.”
Evans led the Lady Phoenix with a 19-point, 21-rebound performance for her sixth double-double of the season, while senior Ali Ford notched a game-high 21 points. Junior guard Kelsey Harris contributed 14 points for Elon (6-7, 3-1).
“This as a huge win for the program,” Elon coach Charlotte Smith said. “I felt like we came out tonight, focused on the game plan and we did a lot of intangible things that carried us to the win in overtime. Defense and rebounding — those are the two things you can control, and those are the two things we dominated, especially in overtime. We just executed in the clutch.”
The Lady Mocs were outrebounded 47-40 and shot just 10 of 21 (47.6 percent) from the free-throw line. Junior Ashlen Dewart finished with a team-high 20 points and nine rebounds in the losing effort.
“They did a good job of doubling her and they were very physical with her,” Moore said. “She missed some easy shots in the first half, but she got her confidence back in the second and hit some big shots for us. It really gave us an edge.”
Senior Kayla Christopher added 15 points, including three 3-pointers, while senior Kylie Lambert and junior Alex Black each chipped in eight. Lambert also collected seven rebounds, seven steals and six assists.
“(Lambert) does a lot of things well,” Moore said. “She stepped up for us and did some good things and gave us a chance to win the game.”
The Lady Mocs return to McKenzie Arena on Saturday when they host Georgia Southern, and they’ll take on College of Charleston on Monday.