After a month on road games and holiday breaks, the Chattanooga women’s basketball team returns to The McKenzie Arena Thursday for a home match against Southern Conference foe Western Carolina.
Chattanooga closed out non-conference play on the road at Tennessee and Jacksonville State then opened SoCon action at 2-1 with a trio of road games. The Mocs fell in a hard-fought battle at Mercer then posted back-to-back victories at Samford and ETSU.
This will be the 93rd meeting between the Mocs and Catamounts dating back to 1979.
Only one game was played before both teams entered the SoCon in 1982. It was played in Cullowhee, N.C. and the Mocs won 86-73. UTC leads the series 80-12 and are 38-6 at home. The Mocs have won 23 of the last 24 meetings. WCU’s last win was Feb. 8, 2020 in Chattanooga by a 61-53 margin.
The Mocs have won back-to-back Southern Conference games heading into Thursday’s match and sitting third in the league standings through two weeks. UTC is shooting 39% from the field and has 5.1 3-pointers per game. Abbey Cornelius leads the team in scoring and rebounding and is ranked fifth in the NCAA for defensive rebounds. She has 25 blocked shots and had a career-high six against ETSU. Amaria Pugh has scored 74 points over the last five games and has led the team in scoring four times.
The Catamounts have lost their first four SoCon matches this season and average 56.8 points per game. On the boards, WCU holds a 5.9 advantage over its opponents and averages 11.6 assists per game. Nadia Marshall leads the team in scoring (10.9) and rebounding (7.1) with 20 steals. Zanoria Cruz is second on the team in scoring with 9.1 points and Vanessa Oduah is third with 8.4 points per game.
Chattanooga will host UNCG Saturday, January 22 at 2:00 p.m. at The McKenzie Arena. The Mocs will celebrate Socon Unity Week with a special T-shirt worn by the team. Tickets are on sale at The McKenzie Arena box office and online at GoMocs.com.