Chattanooga women top Mercer for 4th straight SoCon title

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Queen Alford scored 17 points, Jasmine Joyner had a double-double and Chattanooga used a late 9-0 run to defeat Mercer 65-57 on Sunday for their fourth straight Southern Conference women’s basketball tournament championship.

The Mocs (24-7) are headed to the NCAA Tournament with an 11-game winning streak. They tied with the top-seeded Bears (24-8) for the league title with both teams winning at home in their regular-season matchups.

Keiana Gilbert had 16 points for Chattanooga and Joyner and lone senior Alicia Payne had 12 each with Joyner grabbing 11 rebounds.

Keke Calloway had 18 points off the bench for Mercer and Sydni Means had 15.

Chattanooga had a 13-point lead late in the third quarter but Mercer forced five turnovers and had a 12-2 run to take a 54-54 lead on a basket by Kahlia Lawrence with 4:07 to play. Joyner and Gilbert answered before Alford added a 3, followed by a layup to make it 62-54 with a minute to play.