UTC senior Kayla Christopher looks to pass while being defended by Appalachian State's Raven Gary during the Lady Mocs' 72-67 win Sunday in the semifinal round of the Southern Conference women's basketball tournament in Ashville, N.C. (UTC photo)
UTC Mocs logoASHEVILLE, N.C. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga made the clutch plays late, mainly at the free-throw line, to hold off Appalachian State today in the semifinals of the Southern Conference women's basketball tournament.
Taylor Hall went 11-for-11 from the line and the top-seeded Lady Mocs advanced with a 72-67 win at the U.S. Cellular Center. UTC (28-3) will face the winner of the No. 2 Davidson-No. 3 Elon game later today.
"We know this program has really high expectations," Hall said. "We won the regular season but we know that isn't our overall goal. It feels good to be back and to get this program back where it is supposed to be."
Hall led UTC with 17 points and Ashlen Dewart scored 16; they also had eight rebounds each. Raven Gary led Appalachian State, the No. 4 seed, with a game-high 19 points.
UTC's lead was 67-64 with 2:02 remaining after Dewart made a pair of free throws.Christopher went 1-for-2 from the line with 27.0 seconds left, pushing the lead to a pivotal four points. Pivotal because moments later ASU's Maryah Sydnor hit a long 3-pointer to make it 68-67.
The Lady Mocs inbounded the ball under their basket with 20.5 seconds left and ASU whiffed on its first attempt to foul Hall, which allowed her to run 7.1 seconds off the clock before being fouled.
Hall was automatic from the line in the game and UTC was 22-for-27.
For more Mocs coverage, see tomorrow's Times Free Press. You can also follow beat writer John Frierson on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeatCTFP.