CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Chattanooga women’s basketball team won its 12th straight game Saturday by pulling away in the second half, eventually capturing a 73-58 win at College of Charleston’s TD Arena.
The two teams were tied up at 39-39 at the break, but the Lady Mocs outscored Charleston 14-4 in the opening minutes of the final period, taking their first double-digit lead of the game on junior Alex Black’s jumper with 15:53 left to play.
The Cougars never recovered.
Chattanooga was plus-19 on the glass in the second half, while holding Charleston’s leading scorer, Alyssa Frye, to just one point in the final 20 minutes of action.
“I cannot say enough about the second half,” Chattanooga coach Wes Moore said. “Our kids gutted it out.
“The first half you give up 39 points and the second half you give up 19. Obviously, you are playing with a little more energy. They scored 14 points off offensive boards in the first half and they scored two in the second half. You have to take those away. If you are going to be a great team, you have to do that every day. Not just now and then, you have to do it consistently.”
Junior forward Ashlen Dewart led the Lady Mocs with her third 20-point, 10-rebound performance this season, while fellow post player Faith Dupree provided 13 points in just 14 minutes of action.
“Ashlen gets the heck beat out of her every single night,” Moore said. “She just hangs in there and keeps coming. ... What can you say about Faith. She is ridiculous. She is a poiunt per miute. ”
Dewart, who battled foul trouble throughout the first half, scored 20 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, shooting 9 of 18 from the field. The 6-4 forward also corralled a game-high 13 rebounds.
Junior Taylor Hall finished with 10 points and six rebounds for the Lady Mocs (22-3, 5-1 SoCon), senior Kylie Lambert added seven points, three rebounds and three assists, while senior Kayla Christopher and freshman Tatianna Jackson each brought down seven boards.
Afreyea Toblert scored a team-high 15 points for the Cougars (11-13, 7-8), while Frye and teammate Latisha Harris each finished with 11.
The Lady Mocs return to action Monday when they travel to Statesboro, Ga., to take on Georgia Southern.