Chattanooga women’s basketball is back at McKenzie Arena this week for a pair of Southern Conference tilts against the likes of Samford and Mercer.
The Mocs split their opening pair of conference games at Western Carolina and UNCG, and now UTC will have its sights set on climbing up the SoCon standings this week by squaring off against the Bulldogs and the Bears. Chattanooga will open its week on Thursday, January 16 by taking on Samford at 6 p.m. ET. The Mocs will then welcome Mercer to the Roundhouse on Saturday, January 18 for a 2 p.m.
ET matchup.
Both of this week’s games can be caught on ESPN+ or by tuning into WFLI 96.1 FM/100.3 FM/1070 AM. Thursday’s game against Samford will serve as 80s Night at the Roundhouse, in which the first 250 fans in attendance will receive a free retro hat. Saturday’s Mercer game will also be a giveaway for fans with the first 250 receiving a cowboy hat as we celebrate Ms. Dolly Parton’s birthday at the Roundhouse.
The Mocs split their opening week of SoCon play last weekend in North Carolina, with UTC winning its league opener against Western Carolina, 67-56, before falling to UNCG 62-48 last Saturday. The Mocs currently sit smack in the middle of the SoCon standings after their 1-1 start, but the Mocs have plenty to be excited about as SoCon action starts to heat up. Caia Elisaldez has dazzled for UTC this season, and the sophomore put on a performance for the ages last Thursday in Cullowhee as Elisaldez dropped a career-high 21 points to help guide the Mocs to their first conference win of the season. Gianna Corbitt has also been one to watch for the Mocs, as the freshmen currently leads all SoCon freshmen when it comes to scoring (9.3 points/game), steals (1.8 steals/game) and blocks (0.7 blocks/game) while ranking second amongst the league’s rookies in rebounding (6.1 rebounds/game).
Samford has had a slow start to their 2024-25 season, with the Bulldogs carrying a 5-12 record and coming off a loss in the team’s SoCon opener last weekend at Mercer. Despite this, Samford’s record is not quite indicative of the talent that the Bulldogs possess, as four of their non-conference games came against Power 4 foes. The Bulldogs have brought a lot back from last year’s team, including the towering double-double machine Emily Bowman, who is currently leading the team in both scoring (11.9 points/game) and rebounding (9.7 rebounds/game). Kennedy Langham is another one to watch, as the sophomore is averaging 10.2 points/game while leading the Bulldogs with 44 assists on the year. Samford also has a pair of three-point threats in Claire Johnson and Sadie Stetson, both of whom are shooting above 40 percent from behind the arc this season.
Mercer has had a middling start to their 2024-25 campaign under first-year head coach Michelle Clark-Heard, as the Bears carry a 6-10 record into this weekend. The Bears were able to notch their first conference win of the season in their SoCon opener last Saturday, downing Samford 56-53. Mercer also narrowly defeated Kennesaw State in the team’s non-conference finale, a KSU team that defeated UTC in the Roundhouse just over a month ago. Ariana Bennett, a junior forward, has been a consistent offensive threat for the Bears as Bennett is currently averaging a team-high 10.5 points/game while shooting 44.9 percent from the floor. Ashlee Locke is another player the Mocs will need to game plan for, as Locke’s six-foot-three frame has allowed her to average 8.1 points/game while leading the team in rebounding (8.1 rebounds/game), steals (1.5 steals/game) and blocks (1.1 blocks/game) this season.
It was a tale of two very different tapes when it came to the last time UTC played either of these two squads. Chattanooga’s most recent game against Samford came during the regular season last year in Birmingham, Alabama. In that game, the Mocs locked Samford down defensively, winning the road contest 55-39. As for Mercer, the Mocs most recently met with them in the 2024 SoCon Tournament Semifinals. It was there that then-Moc Jada Guinn put on a performance for the ages in UTC’s eventual 66-55 victory over the Bears. Guinn, who ended up scoring a career-high 33 points in the win, saw 17 of those points come in the fourth quarter as she led Chattanooga to a come-from-behind victory. All-time the Mocs are 30-11 against Samford, including holding a 16-5 record when hosting the Bulldogs. Versus Mercer, the Mocs are 23-11 all-time with a record of 11-3 at home.