The Chattanooga Lady Mocs welcome Evansville, Kennesaw State and Villanova to the Roundhouse this weekend for the annual Lady Mocs DoubleTree Thanksgiving Classic.
Chattanooga is 1-3 on the year after starting off with a tough non-conference schedule that included former Southern Conference foe East Tennessee State, Austin Peay and SEC opponents No. 16 Georgia and Kentucky.
Senior Shanara Hollinquest is currently averaging a near double-double on the year with 18.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting 53.1 percent. She is ranked second in the league in scoring and third in rebounding.
Classmate Jenaya Wade-Fray is ranked 13th in the league in scoring with 11.8 points per game and has a team-leading nine 3-pointers. Freshman Kayla Christopher is ranked third on the team in scoring with eight points per game and after pulling down a career-high 12 boards against Kentucky, she is ranked 13th in the SoCon for rebounding.
The Lady Mocs are averaging 62.2 points per game and are out rebounding opponents 157-146. From beyond the arc, Chattanooga is averaging 6.8 3-pointers per game and have dished out 11.8 assists per game.
Evansville and Villanova will square off this opening game of the Classic followed by Kennesaw State and the Lady Mocs in the Owls (2-2) first road test of the season.
Kennesaw State has wins over Longwood and Jacksonville State after falling to Georgia State in the season-opener. On Tuesday, the Owls dropped a 75-69 decision to ACC foe Clemson at home.
Angie Smith is the team’s leading scorer with 16.5 points per game followed by Gia Lockett’s 16.0 ppg. Samertria Gideon leads the team in rebounding with eight per game while Montinique Nixon has 7.3 boards per game.
Evansville (0-3) has gotten off to a slow start on the season dropping home games to Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Samford and at Murray State. While either tied or leading at halftime, the Purple Aces have been outscored by opponents in the second half of each contest thus far.
Three UE players are averaging double figures led by Chelsea Falkenstein with 11 points and six rebounds per game. Samantha Heck is averaging 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds while Amy Gallagher is averaging 10.0 points.
Villanova (2-1) posted two straight wins to start the season defeating Sacred Heart on the road and Penn at home before falling to Massachusetts in a road contest. The Wildcats average just 47 points per game, but have outscored their opponents by three points per game.
With no one averaging in double digits, Laura Sweeney leads the team in scoring with 9.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Maria Getty and Tia Grant are each averaging 8.7 points per game and Heather Scanlon has chipped in 7.0 points and leads the team in rebounding with seven per game.
Game one between Evansville and Villanova will tip off at 5 p.m. at the McKenzie Arena followed by the Lady Mocs and Kennesaw State. The consolation game will be at 3 p.m. Saturday with the championship to follow.
Tickets may be purchased at the McKenzie Arena box office by calling 423-425-MOCS (66270 or online at the official website of UTC athletics, GoMocs.com. Live streaming video and audio as well as live stats will be available online. Larry Ward, “the Voice of the Lady Mocs” will have all the action live at 95.3 The Pulse.