The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team will close out the non-conference slate Wednesday afternoon against the UAB Blazers at Bartow Arena. The game is set to tip off at 1 p.m. Eastern Time and will be carried on ESPN 105.1 FM. Live stats and streaming video will be available on the Lady Mocs basketball schedule page or at Gameday Central.
The Lady Mocs are 8-2 overall and 6-2 outside the Southern Conference including wins over then-20th ranked Tennessee and fellow SEC foe Alabama on the road. Chattanooga is 18-14 against UAB including a preseason WNIT win over the Blazers at home last season. The Lady Mocs have won each of the last six meetings, all during head coach Wes Moore’s tenure.
The Lady Mocs are second in the Southern Conference in scoring, averaging 71.5 points per game while giving up just 56.6 to its opponents with a 14.9 scoring margin. Junior Ashlen Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) leads the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game and is third off the boards with 6.1 rebounds per game while leading the league in field goal percentage at 52.4 percent. Senior Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) has a team-best 23 3-pointers and is second on the team in scoring with 12.7 points per game and a team-high 26 assists.
UTC is shooting 41.1 percent from the field, second in the SoCon, and 30.2 percent from the 3-point line. Off the boards, the Lady Mocs are second in the SoCon with 41.2 rebounds per game and fourth in the league giving up 39.9 to its opponents. Junior Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) leads the Lady Mocs in rebounding with 6.6 per game and is third in scoring with 10.0 points per game. Senior Kylie Lambert is second on the team in rebounding with 6.4 per game.
The Blazers are 9-3 overall and are 2-2 over their last four games. After falling to George Mason (55-58) and Morehead State (50-57), UAB rebounded with back-to-back wins over Martin (56-51) and UNCG (80-62). On their home court, the Blazers are 5-1 with its only loss to Morehead State. UAB has a 12.5 scoring advantage allowing its opponents just 52.5 points per game while averaging 65 per game. The Blazers hold a slight edge over opponents on the boards by 38.2-37.5 (0.8). Amber Jones is the team’s leading scorer with 14.5 points per game and has 4.5 rebounds per game. She has 30 assists to 25 turnovers and has 31 steals. Karisma Chapman has started all 12 games and is averaging 13.8 points per game and has a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game along with 32 assists and 42 swipes. From the field, the Blazers are shooting 39.3 percent and 28.2 percent from the 3-point line, averaging 4.1 treys per game.
The two teams have met 32 times with UTC holding a slight 18-14 advantage including the season-opening Preseason WNIT contest last season.. At home, the Lady Mocs are 10-5 against the Blazers and have a current six-game win streak, all in the Wes Moore era.