Lady Mocs win, end in third place

CULLOWHEE, N.C.-Whitney Hood had 18 points and 10 rebounds Saturday to lead the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team to its eighth win in the final 10 games of the regular season.

With their 59-47 victory at the Ramsey Center, and fifth straight win on the road, the Lady Mocs clinched the No. 3 seed in next week's Southern Conference tournament at McKenzie Arena.

"These last three [road wins] especially, I don't think we could have pulled them off a month or two ago," coach Wes Moore said. "Our team is showing a little bit of toughness. A couple of these games have not been pretty-we've had more turnovers than assists and haven't shot it unbelievably well - but we've found a way to get it done."

The Lady Mocs (16-13, 13-7) finished third in the league behind champion Appalachian State and Samford and are off until the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament Saturday in Chattanooga.

UTC led 16-5 10 minutes into the game as the Catamounts (8-21, 6-14) needed nearly seven minutes to make their first field goal. Led by a quick eight points by Emily Clarke, however, WCU closed the gap and trailed 26-21 at halftime.

The Lady Mocs never allowed the Catamounts to get within five points in the second half and closed the game on a 7-0 run. Bailey Dewart finished with 12 UTC points on 5-for-6 shooting.

Western Carolina outrebounded UTC 46-35, with 17 offensive rebounds, but the Catamounts managed only four second-chance points.

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