Women fall to UTC yet again, 80-68

The Wildcats winningest season in the program’s history ended with a devastating loss to UTC on Friday, 80-68. The Wildcats hustled, fought and scrapped, but Chattanooga emerged victorious and advanced to yet another title game.

Davidson was taken hostage by the strong play of conference player of the year Alex Anderson who scored 22 points in the winning effort. The Wildcats jumped out to an early 14-4 lead, but Anderson lead the Mocs on a 41-15 run to end the first half. She finished the half with 20 points on 7-11 shooting.

As the second half started, Davidson showed that they would not quietly into the afternoon. Katie Hamilton poured in 10 second half points to finish with 17 overall. Brynn Kelly also contributed 18 points and eight rebounds in what might be her final game as a Wildcat.

The Wildcats could not find the right combination of players to make points on the offensive end while shutting down the Mocs’ outside shooting. Chattanooga seemed to answer every Wildcat run with a big three-pointer or a steal and finish.

"I don't know what we can do to top that team other than finding Stephen Curry's younger sister," Coach Watts said.

Chattanooga shot 11-27 from three-point land, while Davidson only managed 4-20. When Davidson shut down Alex Anderson in the second half, Brooke Hand found the hot hand and hit several three-pointers. She finished with a game-high 23 points.

Tia Washington ’07 finished with 17 points, many of which came late in the second half. The Wildcats refused to relent, even in the face of Chattanooga's shooting onslaught.

"Chattanooga had a lot of bullets in their gun, but we played really hard," Coach Watts said. "I was so proud of the effort of this team."

Davidson has not beaten Chattanooga since 1999, a losing streak that reached 17 with today’s loss. They have also never advanced to the tournament finals in their program’s history.

With their 23 wins on the season, the Wildcats still have an outside shot at an NIT bid.