The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team will travel to Johnson City, Tenn., to take on ETSU Friday evening at Brooks Gym.
Chattanooga and East Tennessee State began competing against each other in the Mocs first season, 1974-75. This will be the 78th meeting between the two teams. UTC is 56-21 against the Bucs all-time and won the first five meetings. Chattanooga has won the last 10 contests with seven in SoCon play since ETSU returned to the league.
UTC is 33-13 against ETSU in SoCon play and 3-2 in the league tournament. On the road, the Mocs are 25-12 against the Bucs. The last loss to ETSU in Johnson City was in November 2009 in non-conference play. UTC won the last five.
The Mocs opened SoCon play last weekend with a pair of wins at home. UTC is 11-5 overall and 2-0 against the Conference. Chattanooga ranks second in the nation for fewest fouls and is 13th for scoring defense, allowing opponents to score an average 55.4 points per game. The Mocs lead the SoCon in 3-point field goal percentage making 37.1 percent of their attempts and are tied with Furman for most blocked shots per game in the SoCon.
Aryanna Gilbert leads the Mocs in scoring with 14.0 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding with 5.6 per game. Keiana Gilbert has a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game and is second on the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game. The pair have combined for 89 assists, 32 steals and 28 blocked shots. Aryanna is shooting 48 percent from the field and is 23-of-59 from the 3-point line. She leads the SoCon from the charity stripe making 35-of-37 (.946) of her attempts. Lakelyn Bouldin is the third Chattanooga player in double figures with 12.8 points per game. She has a team-best 33 3-pointers and is fourth in the league in both 3-pointers made and 3-point field goal percentage (.384). Arianne Whitaker is third on the team in rebounding with 5.4 per game and has 16 blocked shots this season.
The Bucs are 9-8 on the year and beat Western Carolina and UNCG to open conference action. ETSU opened the season 4-1 before dropping seven of its next nine contests. The Bucs bounced back and have won their last three meetings including two in SoCon play. ETSU is second in the league in scoring with 70.2 points per game but give up 70.3 per game to its opponents. The Bucs lead the SoCon in rebounding (40.1) and steals (12.6). They are shooting 37.1 percent from the field, 26 percent from the 3-point line and 69.6 from the free throw line.
Tianna Tarter leads the team with 16.5 points per game and freshman Erica Haynes-Overton is the only other ETSU player in double digits with 13.6 per game. Tarter is 24-of-84 from the 3-point line, leads the team in assists with 65 and has 44 steals. Haynes-Overton has a team-high 70 steals and has dished out 37 assists. Brittney Snowden has a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game and is fourth on the team in scoring with 8.2 points per game. Shy Copney, off the bench, is third on the team in scoring with 8.8 points per game.