It wasn’t Chattanooga’s 10 3-pointers that troubled the Lady Eagles the most. It was the timing of them.
The Mocs’ clutch shots, Georgia Southern’s six-minute second-half scoring drought and a rough night offensively for the Eagles resulted in Chattanooga’s 65-52 win Monday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse. It was Georgia Southern’s final home game of the season.
The Eagles made a late run, putting up six straight points to cut UTC’s lead to three with 7:40 to play, but the Mocs held the Eagles scoreless for the next 6:18 and scored 10 unanswered points during that stretch to push its lead back to 13 at 60-47 with less than minutes to go.
“We’d come within three or four points and get back in it, and they’d hit one or two 3s in a row,” Cram said. “They were mental breakdowns on our part, and that cost us. Against a team like Chattanooga you can’t lose your focus. We totally lost our focus as guards. We let them get open at the wrong times to shoot. We just broke down mentally and left their 3-point shooters open at very crucial times when we were making runs.”
Junior guard Tiffany Brown led the Eagles (11-17, 6-11) offensively, racking up game-highs in both points (18) and 3-pointers (four). Brown had four of GSU’s five 3s.
“She was the only guard who scored tonight from the perimeter,” Cram said. “We couldn’t get her any help. You can’t have one person scoring from the perimeter against a team like Chattanooga. You’ve got to have two or three scoring, and it just didn’t happen for us tonight. I’m very disappointed that we didn’t come up with a little bit more intensity tonight.”
Junior forward Shawnda Atwood was the only other Eagle in double figures, scoring 15 and grabbing 13 rebounds. The Mocs were led by Laura Hall’s 17 points and Brooke Hand’s 13. The Eagles were 19-for-67 (28.4 percent) from the field for the game, while league-leading Chattanooga (21-7, 14-3) was 20-for-60 (33.3).
Both teams turned the ball over 18 times, but the Mocs finished with 23 points off turnovers to GSU’s eight.
“We turned it over too much, and we didn’t shoot the ball from the perimeter,” Cram said. “Against a team like Chattanooga, you have to be able to shoot the basketball, and we just didn’t shoot well tonight.”
Georgia Southern held the conference’s leading scorer, Mocs forward Alex Anderson, to 10 points, more than 11 below her average. But the Eagles couldn’t stop her on the glass where she had a game-high 15 rebounds, 11 in the first half.
“Even though her numbers weren’t there shooting, her rebounds gave them second and third looks at the basket,” Cram said. “We didn’t block her out very well, but I thought we guarded her well.”
Chattanooga led 33-26 at the half, and both teams struggled offensively in the first 20 minutes as the Mocs shot 34.4 percent from the field while the Eagles were 10 of 33 for 30.3 percent. As they did in the second half, the Mocs used their perimeter shooting to keep the Eagles at bay early. Five different UTC players scored at lead one 3 in the first half.
The Eagles begin SoCon tournament play next week and conclude the regular season Saturday at Charleston. If Georgia Southern can avenge a 54-53 home loss to the Cougars earlier this year, it can avoid playing in the tournament’s play-in games slated for Tuesday.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
The Mocs’ clutch shots, Georgia Southern’s six-minute second-half scoring drought and a rough night offensively for the Eagles resulted in Chattanooga’s 65-52 win Monday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse. It was Georgia Southern’s final home game of the season.
The Eagles made a late run, putting up six straight points to cut UTC’s lead to three with 7:40 to play, but the Mocs held the Eagles scoreless for the next 6:18 and scored 10 unanswered points during that stretch to push its lead back to 13 at 60-47 with less than minutes to go.
“We’d come within three or four points and get back in it, and they’d hit one or two 3s in a row,” Cram said. “They were mental breakdowns on our part, and that cost us. Against a team like Chattanooga you can’t lose your focus. We totally lost our focus as guards. We let them get open at the wrong times to shoot. We just broke down mentally and left their 3-point shooters open at very crucial times when we were making runs.”
Junior guard Tiffany Brown led the Eagles (11-17, 6-11) offensively, racking up game-highs in both points (18) and 3-pointers (four). Brown had four of GSU’s five 3s.
“She was the only guard who scored tonight from the perimeter,” Cram said. “We couldn’t get her any help. You can’t have one person scoring from the perimeter against a team like Chattanooga. You’ve got to have two or three scoring, and it just didn’t happen for us tonight. I’m very disappointed that we didn’t come up with a little bit more intensity tonight.”
Junior forward Shawnda Atwood was the only other Eagle in double figures, scoring 15 and grabbing 13 rebounds. The Mocs were led by Laura Hall’s 17 points and Brooke Hand’s 13. The Eagles were 19-for-67 (28.4 percent) from the field for the game, while league-leading Chattanooga (21-7, 14-3) was 20-for-60 (33.3).
Both teams turned the ball over 18 times, but the Mocs finished with 23 points off turnovers to GSU’s eight.
“We turned it over too much, and we didn’t shoot the ball from the perimeter,” Cram said. “Against a team like Chattanooga, you have to be able to shoot the basketball, and we just didn’t shoot well tonight.”
Georgia Southern held the conference’s leading scorer, Mocs forward Alex Anderson, to 10 points, more than 11 below her average. But the Eagles couldn’t stop her on the glass where she had a game-high 15 rebounds, 11 in the first half.
“Even though her numbers weren’t there shooting, her rebounds gave them second and third looks at the basket,” Cram said. “We didn’t block her out very well, but I thought we guarded her well.”
Chattanooga led 33-26 at the half, and both teams struggled offensively in the first 20 minutes as the Mocs shot 34.4 percent from the field while the Eagles were 10 of 33 for 30.3 percent. As they did in the second half, the Mocs used their perimeter shooting to keep the Eagles at bay early. Five different UTC players scored at lead one 3 in the first half.
The Eagles begin SoCon tournament play next week and conclude the regular season Saturday at Charleston. If Georgia Southern can avenge a 54-53 home loss to the Cougars earlier this year, it can avoid playing in the tournament’s play-in games slated for Tuesday.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
