The Chattanooga women’s basketball team is effectively wiping the slate clean from its first half of the 2023-24 season this week, as the Mocs are now set to kick off their Southern Conference slate on Wednesday by hosting Mercer at McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs (12-3) have showcased a strong start to their season through non-conference action, at one point stringing together a nine-game win streak and putting up the second consecutive season under Coach Shawn Poppie where the team posted 11+ wins outside of conference play.
However, this week marks a whole new season for Southern Conference teams, as SoCon action starts to ramp up with the Bears (6-10) aiming to start off their 2024 on a high note.
Tipoff for Wednesday is currently scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at the Roundhouse and fans will be able to follow along either through the ESPN+ live stream or by tuning in for Larry Ward’s radio coverage on 96.1 FM/100.3 FM/1070 AM. Live stats are also available on GoMocs.com.
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
The Mocs were able to return to the win column one last time to close out the non-conference season, defeating NC Central in the team’s final game before SoCon action ramps up. UTC concluded the non-conference season with a record of 12-3, marking the second time under Coach Poppie that the Mocs have had 11+ non-conference wins and the first time since 2015-16 that Chattanooga has logged at least 12 non-conference wins in a season. The Mocs continue to be a “three-and-d” style of team when looking at their strengths, as Chattanooga currently ranks 20th in the nation in scoring defense (54.3) alongside ranking 28th in the NCAA in three-point percentage (.365) on the year. UTC’s scoring revolves around the two-headed monster of Jada Guinn and Raven Thompson, as Guinn currently paces the Mocs by averaging 17.9 points/game with Thompson not far behind her averaging 14.6 points/game.
The Bears enter their Southern Conference opener just a couple ticks below .500 on the season with a non-conference record of 6-10 to their name. Most recently Mercer was able to snap a two-game skid of their own by taking down Kennesaw State, 70-54. Other wins for the Bears include the likes of Jacksonville, North Carolina A&T, Austin Peay, Marist and FAU. Additionally, three of Mercer’s ten losses this year have come at the hands of Power 5 opponents, including Clemson, Georgia and Georgia Tech. The Mercer gameplan currently revolves around two things: taking advantage of the team’s height and finding open three-pointers, as the Bears currently rank third in the SoCon in blocks (3.25) and fourth when it comes to rebounding (37.4) while also sitting third in team three-point percentage (.341) this year. The Bears have many different options to turn to when it comes to scoring the ball, including one-time SoCon Player of the Week Stacie Jones, who is currently averaging a few rebounds shy of a double-double this season (10.5 points/game, 7.3 rebounds/game). Mercer will also turn to reigning 2023 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, Summah Evans, who has only played in the team’s past three games after missing the first half of the season due to injury. In just three games of action, Evans is averaging 12.7 points/game, 6.0 rebounds/game, 3.0 steals/game and 1.7 blocks/game for the Bears.
The most recent collision between the Mocs and the Bears came February 9 of last season, in a game that saw the Mocs come out on top by a score of 64-61 in Macon. The win sealed UTC’s first season sweep of the Bears since 2017, snapping a streak in which Mercer had won four of the last five matchups between the two sides. The trio of Addie Grace Porter (19 points), Raven Thompson (14 points) and Yazz Wazeerud-Din (11 points) proved too much for the Bears, as the Mocs were able to string together a late 7-0 scoring run in the fourth quarter to help propel UTC past Mercer on their own home floor. The win moved the all-time series between Chattanooga and Mercer to 20-11 in favor of the Mocs. When playing in Chattanooga, like the teams will be doing this Wednesday, the Mocs hold a favorable 10-3 advantage all-time against the Bears.