UTC Lady Mocs rout Kennesaw State, 76-39

photo The Mocs' Faith Dupree, No. 34, reaches up for a shot during Monday's game. The Lady Mocs played against Kennesaw State at McKenzie Arena on Monday night.
photo Taylor Hall of UTC tries to power past Kennesaw State's Sametria Gideon at McKenzie Arena Monday night.
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Taylor Hall did a bit of everything, Kylie Lambert buried a bunch of 3-pointers and Faith Dupree made her long-awaited debut Monday night.

Lambert scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Hall added nine points and 10 rebounds in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team's 76-39 rout of Kennesaw State.

"We just knew what they were looking for on offense, and our guards executed really well," Hall said. "They stayed with their shooters, so that helped us keep control of the game."

It was the Lady Mocs' first game at McKenzie Arena since the season opener on Nov. 11, a stretch of 31 days that included six games away from home.

"It was so nice and I was excited to be back in the Roundhouse," said Lambert, who hit her first four 3-point attempts.

Just about everybody on the roster contributed for UTC (5-3). Backup point guard Alex Black had a big game off the bench with 14 points and three assists. Posts Whitney Hood, Capriee Tucker, Hall and Dupree had a combined 30 points and 22 rebounds.

Kennesaw State (3-5) was the fourth consecutive UTC opponent to score fewer than 52 points. The Lady Mocs dominated the glass, outrebounding the Owls 52-30, in UTC's third straight game with at least 50 rebounds.

"They're doing the little things, especially on the boards," Lady Mocs coach Wes Moore said. "Taylor Hall and Kylie Lambert in particular have been unbelievable on the offensive boards."

The Lady Mocs led 42-17 at the end of a one-sided first half. UTC jumped out to a 6-0 lead, Lambert kept hitting 3s and the Owls missed 17 of their first 20 shots.

Dupree entered the game for the first time with 12:51 left in the first half. The crowd of 1,710 gave her a warm welcome, prompting a quick smile from the 6-foot-3 Knoxville native.

"I'm glad they were excited, but it put more pressure on me," she said. "I was freaking out a little bit."

Some nerves and rust were evident as Dupree missed her first five field-goal attempts, but she made a pair of free throws for her only points of the half.

"It was a lot of fun," Dupree said. "Obviously you could see that I had nerves out there. I tried not to play with them, but sometimes it's inevitable."

In the second half, Dupree hit a tough runner from the foul line for her first field goal -- it was by far the hardest shot she had attempted, and she swished it. She scored again moments later after a Kayla Christopher steal to give UTC a 48-25 lead.

Dupree finished 2-of-10 from the field with six points and three rebounds.

"Obviously the second half was a little better," said Dupree, who later added that she was glad to have the first UTC game out of the way.

She will play her second on Thursday when the Lady Mocs host Belmont.

Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeatCTFP.

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