Dewart Leads Chattanooga Past Women's Basketball
2/19/2013 2:43:13 AM | Women's Basketball
Box score (PDF) | VIDEO: Postgame interview with coach Chris Vozab
STATESBORO, Ga. – Ashlen Dewart tallied 24 points, including 20 in the second half, and collected a season-high 13 rebounds to lead Chattanooga to a 67-50 Southern Conference women's basketball victory over Georgia Southern Monday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
It was the 13th straight win for the Lady Mocs (23-3, 16-1 SoCon), who maintained their one-game advantage over Davidson for first place in the league.
Meredyth Frye scored 12 points for the Eagles (5-20, 4-12 SoCon), leaving the senior five shy of 1,000 for her career. MiMi DuBose netted 12 points, and Anna Claire Knight (right) tallied 10 points and nine rebounds.
Kayla Christopher scored nine points for Chattanooga, while Alicia Payne and Meghan Downes each netted eight.
Dewart was 2-for-4 in the first half but connected on seven of her 10 shots in the second frame, and nine of her game-high 13 rebounds were on the offensive glass, helping the Lady Mocs score 23 second-chance points.
"Once she catches the ball where she wants it, it's pretty tough to stop her," Georgia Southern coach Chris Vozab said of Dewart. "I thought we did a good job of pressuring the ball and getting in passing lanes to deny her from catching it close to the basket when they were running their sets. What got us was giving up offensive rebounds, which put us in scramble situations."
The Eagles trimmed a 10-point halftime deficit to 39-33 on a Knight layup early in the second half and forced a missed shot on the ensuing Lady Moc possession. But Dewart corralled the rebound, put it in and was fouled. The junior hit the free throw, and the play sparked a 9-0 Lady Mocs' run that pushed the lead to 15 midway through the period. Georgia Southern cut the deficit to 12 points twice but could not get to within single digits.
After Knight tied the game 24-24 on a fast-break layup with 5:01 left in the first half, Chattanooga scored 10 unanswered points to cap the frame. Downes ignited the run with a triple from the right corner and added a pull-up jumper from the baseline later in the spurt. Christopher connected on a 3-pointer from the wing, and Hall added a fast-break layup. The Eagles finished the half with 15 turnovers, which turned into 17 Lady Mocs' points.
The Eagles play their next two on the road, starting Saturday at Wofford in a 2 p.m. tipoff. GSU caps the regular season with a pair of home games against UNCG and Elon March 2 and 4.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.
