College of Charleston
Chattanooga
CofC Upsets Chattanooga in SoCon Semifinal, 53-51
3/8/2009 5:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Deidra Jones hit a layup with 3.5 seconds remaining in the game as College of Charleston upset the No. 1 seeded Chattanooga Lady Mocs, 53-51, in the semifinals of the 2009 Southern Conference Women's Basketball Championship.
The loss snapped the Cougars 17-game losing streak to the Lady Mocs and broke UTC's three-year tournament winning streak. UTC's last SoCon Tournament loss also came in Chattanooga, in 2005 against East Tennessee State.
Despite never having a lead, Chattanooga's Erin Ogan knocked down a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to tie the score at 51. The Cougars would not be denied however as they drove straight down the court for Jones' winning layup.
Leading the way for the Cougars were a pair of double-double performers in Nikki Williams and Jones. Williams tallied 10 points and 14 rebounds, including seven and seven in the first seven minutes of the game, while Jones chipped in with 10 points and 11 rebounds, including the game winner. Guard Jade Hughes led the team with 13 points and dished out four assists.
Forward Erin Ogan led the way for the Lady Mocs with 14 points and 11 rebounds, including 4-of-9 from behind the arch. Jenaya Wade-Fray led the team with 15 points.
The Cougars opened the game with a ferocious defense, which helped control the tempo for most of the first half and prevented Chattanooga from getting the ball into SoCon Player of the Year Hollinquest, who had the Lady Mocs only 2-point field goal in the half, which came at the 19:06 mark in the game. The Cougars outscored UTC 14-2 in the paint, while the Lady Mocs shot only 29.4 percent (5-for-17) from the 3-point line as the Cougars took a nine point lead into the halftime break.
After trailing by nine at half, the Lady Mocs rallied to pull within one at 31-30 with 16:37 left in the game. However, UTC could not get over the hump as College of Charleston answered every Lady Moc run with a run of its own. The Cougars grabbed their largest lead of the game at the five minute mark after Hughes hit a 3-pointer to take a 48-38 lead. From there the Lady Mocs went on a 13-3 run to set up the game's wild finish.
For the game, Charleston held Chattanooga to just six two-point baskets and limited them to 29.3 percent (17-of-58) shooting from the field, including 33.3 percent (11-of-33) from behind the 3-point line. The 33 3-point attempts set a SoCon Tournament record for most threes in one game.
The Cougars (23-7) now advance to tomorrow's championship game where they will face the winner of the Samford-Western Carolina game. Tip time is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET and will be televised on SportSouth. Chattanooga concludes the scheduled portion of its season at 22-9. Barring an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, the Lady Mocs are guaranteed a berth in the WNIT on the strength of their regular season title.
