Hamilton Reporter

Chattanooga put up 39 more shots than Western Carolina and outscored the Catamounts 62-44 Thursday night at the Ramsey Center to remain in a tie for first in the Southern Conference women's basketball standings.
 
The Mocs were 22-of-57 from the field with six from deep and forced 25 Catamount turnovers to secure the win on the road. Chattanooga improves to 17-11 overall and 9-5 in league play, tied with Wofford who beat Samford at home tonight. Western Carolina 9-19 on the year and 2-11 in league play.
 
Yazz Wazeerud-Din lead all scorers with 23 points and Addie Grace Porter added 15, playing all 40 minutes at the point. Abbey Cornelius dropped in seven points and had a game-high eight rebounds and dished out four assists.
 
Chattanooga came out strong, outscoring Western Carolina 21-8 in the opening quarter. Porter and Wazeerud-Din combined for 13 of the Mocs points in the period. Raven Thompson was 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the first quarter and passed Katarika Banks for the UTC freshman free throw mark. She ended the night with 124, fourth in a season for the Mocs.
 
In the second quarter, UTC maintained its double-digit lead until the final 1:28. Western Carolina put together a 7-0 run at the end of the quarter to cut Chattanooga's lead to 31-25 with 18 seconds in the half and outscored the Mocs 17-13. Wazeerud-Din hit a jumper in the final second to make it 34-25 at the break.
 
In the third quarter, the Mocs pushed the lead back into double figures getting out front by 15 points twice, its largest lead to that point. Wazeerud-Din accounted for 12 of Chattanooga 16 in the frame making 3-of-5 that included a pair of 3-pointers and was 4-of-4 from the line.
 
Chattanooga, nearly unbeatable when holding the lead with 10 minutes to play, headed into the final quarter with a 50-37 lead. The Mocs shot 42.9 percent from the field in the frame and held the Catamounts to just 18.2 percent (2-11), outscoring them 12-7.
 
The Mocs never trailed in the game and led by as much as 18 points in the final quarter where they saw their best scoring run of eight points. Chattanooga scored 25 points off the Catamounts 25 miscues and gave up just six on 13 turnovers.
 
Raven Thompson added eight points, making 4-of-6 from the free throw line. The defensive award goes to Sigrun Olafsdottir who had a season-high six steals while dishing out three assists.
 
Tamori Plantin and Zanoria Cruz led the Catamounts with nine points apiece. Kyla Allison had eight oints and five boards while Endia Holliday put up seven points with a team-best six rebounds.
 
Western Carolina was 16-of-38 from the field and made a pair of 3-pointers. The Cats outrebounded the Mocs 31-27 and scored just three points on nine offensive rebounds. Chattanooga outscored WCU 30-22 in the paint.
 
Chattanooga remains on the road to take on UNCG and will look to secure its 23rd Southern Conference regular season title. Follow all the action online at GoMocs.com.
 
FROM THE HEAD COACH | QUOTES
"I don't know what happened in the league tonight. To be honest with you, I don't even necessarily overly care because regardless, we go and win in Greensboro we are considered champs, one way or the other. So with that said, I'm really proud of the group tonight and we look forward to getting to Greensboro."
 
TOP TAKEAWAYS | NOTES
- Raven Thompson broke a 25-year old UTC freshman record for free throws made with 124. She passed Katarika Banks (120). She is now fourth for free throws made in a season passing Banks and Regina Kirk (121).
- Chattanooga remains tied with Wofford for first place in the SoCon standings. The Mocs must win on Saturday to secure their 23rd regular season title.
- Chattanooga avenged its loss to Western Carolina earlier this season. It was the Catamounts last win this season. 

Original source can be found here