The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team will open the season at home Tuesday in the head coaching debut of Katie Burrows.
Burrows, a former assistant for the Mocs, was named the sixth head coach of the women’s team since becoming a varsity sport in 1974. She is the second former student-athlete to become head coach, following Sharon Cable Fanning-Otis who led UTC for 11 seasons.
This will be the first regular season meeting between Lee and Chattanooga, however, while the game will count as a regular season matchup for the Mocs it will be an exhibition for the Lady Flames.
UTC has implementing a clear bag policy for the McKenzie Arena.
Clear totes are allowed as well as one-gallon storage bags, small clutch purses, seat cushion or bleacher chair without pockets and a small diaper bag. A baby must accompany the diaper bag.
Tickets are on sale for Tuesday’s game at the McKenzie Arena box office and online at GoMocs.com. Season tickets, mini-packs and single game tickets, including Louisville, are on sale now. Tickets for the NC State game will go on sale at a later date.
The Mocs return nine players from last season’s third place squad. Head coach Katie Burrows signed four freshmen and added a walk-on in the fall. UTC was picked to finish fifth by the league coaches and third by the SoCon Media. Mercer and ETSU tied atop the coaches’ poll and the Bears led the way among the media. Lakelyn Bouldin was the lone Chattanooga player named to the preseason all-conference team.
Lakelyn Bouldin is the Mocs’ top returning scorer from last season. She led UTC from the 3-point line with 62 and was the league’s most accurate from that range at 39 percent. She was third on the team in scoring and was named to the All-SoCon third team. She scored a career-high 32 points in the Mocs’ win over Hampton with a career-best six 3-pointers in the game.
Arianne Whitaker started all but two games for Chattanooga at center. She led the Mocs with 6.8 rebounds per game and was fourth in the SoCon. She had a conference-high 45 blocked shots and had three double-doubles last season.
Lee Head coach Marty Rowe enters his 15th season with the Lady Flames. Lee, picked fourth in the GSC, returns seven key players and highlights three newcomers. Junior Abby Bertram was selected by the Gulf South Conference coaches for the five-member preseason all-conference team.
Four Lady Flames scored in double figures in a 90-59 rout of Faulkner in an exhibition matchup at home. Abby Bertram led the way with 16 points and Roddy Lindsey chipped in 15. Kayla Tillie had 14 points and Haley Schubert added 13. The quartet combined for 13 steals and 10 assists. Lee shot 47.1 percent from the field and 11-of-28 from the 3-point line.
The Mocs and Lady Flames have met several times in exhibition matches. This will be the first regular season meeting between the two for Chattanooga. This will remain an exhibition for Lee who opens their season on the road at Florida Southern on November 9th.