Women's basketball splits first two against in-state competition

TaRonda Wiles led all scorers with 24 points to lead East Tennessee State to an 85-61 win over Chattanooga at the Memorial Center at ETSU in the season opener for both teams Friday night.After struggling against the Lady Bucs, the 2009-10 UTC Lady Mocs steadied the boat by defeating Austin Peay to split the first two games of the year. The Lady Mocs are attempting to capture their eleventh straight regular season Southern Conference title.

The Lady Bucs of ETSU spotted UTC an early 4-0 lead, but dropped the hammer after that. Leading scorer Wiles led ETSU to a relatively easy 85-61 victory in Johnson City last Friday night. Wiles led all scorers with 24 points in the rout.

Wiles and Siarre Evans hit back-to-back three-pointers early to put ETSU up for good with just under 17 minutes to play in the first half.

Senior Jenaya Wade-Fray, from Madison, Ala., kept the fight alive with an early three of her own, but a backbreaking 13-2 run gave ETSU a lead that was just too big. UTC would get as close at 19-12, after Redshirt Freshman Michelle Davis, from Cleveland, Tenn., hit a three at the 13-minute mark, but that was it.

The Lady Bucs outscored Chattanooga 30-14 over the next 12 minutes to put the game too far out of reach. The halftime score was 49-26 in favor of ETSU.

The second half was much more evenly played, with UTC hitting the boards at a feverish pace. The Lady Mocs outrebounded ETSU by a 28-20 margin in the second half, and held a 14-13 offensive rebounding edge.

Senior Shanara Hollinquest, from Sylacauga, Ala., led the Lady Mocs with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Wade-Frey also hit double figures with 13 points. Davis contributed with six points and seven rebounds.

Game two of the early season road trip finished with better results. The Lady Mocs came out against Austin Peay with a chip on their shoulders, and it showed. UTC beat the Lady Govs by a score of 76-66 Sunday afternoon at the Dave Aaron Arena.

Hollinquest led the Lady Mocs with a team-best 21 points, including 17 in the second half that kept the Lady Mocs in front for the second stanza. Austin Peay was only able to snatch the lead once, and that was in the first half.

The Lady Mocs jumped on APU early and often. An early 10-0 lead set the tone to kick off the game. The Lady Govs gave chase and cut that lead to one, after their own nine-point surge, but UTC was too much. In a game of runs, UTC was able to sprint back ahead with another run. This time freshman Kayla Christopher, from Oliver Springs, Tenn., keyed the onslaught by knocking down a bomb from deep to key an eight-point run.

In the second half, the Lady Govs kept chipping away and eventually took the lead 45-44 with 14:30 to play in the game. Hollinquest, the reigning conference MVP, dropped two straight layups to give Chattanooga the lead for good.

Christopher had a season high 13 points to go along with Hollinquest's efforts. Christopher also snagged five rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and just one turnover. Senior Jenaya Wade-Frey from Madison, Ala., had 14 points and was perfect from the three point arc, going 2-2.

The Lady Mocs scorched the nets for a 62 percent field goal percentage in the first half and were four of five from downtown.

The free throw line was a an area of trouble for the Lady Mocs, as they only shot 14-25 from the charity stripe.