It was the start of her senior year. The Lady Mocs were picked to win a fourth straight Southern Conference title and the season was off to a 2-1 start, falling only to third-ranked Tennessee.
 
A loss to Butler in the first game of the Coconut Grove Sonesta Classic, however, put Miranda Warfield Travers on the bench for the rest of the year.
 
"Deflating," Warfield said as she recalled that game from her home in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., where she lives with her husband Derek and two sons. "It's not something you want to have happen at all. It was very deflating. At the same time, I think Coach [Wes] Moore knew how to motivate me."
 
And motivate he did. The very next day, Warfield exploded for six 3-pointers against Hampton in the tournament. She came off the bench to score a game-high 22 points.
 
"I learned my role. Being a senior I still felt like I could contribute even though I wasn't a starter and that was ok. We still did good things."
 
That win was the start of a school-record 27-game win streak that culminated with Chattanooga's win over Rutgers at The McKenzie Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
"That was an experience I'll never forget. There are times now I still think back to that tournament and that time in my life," Warfield said. "We did win, but even bigger than the win, I think about our loss to Vanderbilt in that second round. It still eats me up today that we didn't come out with that win."
 
While that loss may weigh heavily on her mind, she gets to look back on a career that included the best winning record in school history at 29-3, four Southern Conference regular season titles and tournament crowns, four trips to the NCAA Tournament and friends that last a lifetime.
 
"The team as a whole, a whole unit, between the coaches and the players and our determination. There was just something special about our group of teammates. We were all really close, we all really got along with one another. We cared about one another and I think it helped us through those year to do what we did."
 
When learning of her selection into Chattanooga's Hall of Fame she was very surprised and humbled and as her kids Tyler (10) and Tommy (8) put it, "You have to be 'old' to get into that."
 
"I took that as a compliment," she laughed.
 
"I was very humbled and appreciative of the honor," Warfield related. "This is a really big deal and I'm very thankful for it."
 
She didn't mention the selection to any of her former teammates, but they have a way of finding things out and stay in touch through phone calls, emails and group texting.

"I'm not one to brag or boast. I'm not one to talk about myself at all. I didn't say anything," she said. "All of a sudden, a text came to the whole group. It was Natalie Stephens McMasters, blasting 'congratulations' to me. It really warmed my heart because they care.
 
"I responded that I couldn't have done it without any of them, though. This is not just about me. I couldn't have shot the ball without Mac [Heather McDivitt Teague] passing it to me, Katie [Galloway Burrows] passing it to me or somebody setting the screen. For that I am very thankful. It's like I told them, none of that is possible without them."
 
After a successful high school career that saw her earn two team MVPs and ranked as a Top Five region player, she chose to come to Chattanooga after meeting with then assistant coach Jill Jameson and head coach Wes Moore.
 
"I was blown away by the facilities," Warfield said as she recalled her visit to the campus. "I was recruited by a lot of mid majors and Chattanooga, by far, had better facilities than any I had seen.
 
"Between the facilities and the potential the program had, I could really see that I had a chance to play and that was really big to me. I wanted to play basketball and not sit for the four years that I was there."
 
Warfield was a two-time SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player, three-time SoCon Coaches all-conference selection and named to the league's 2001 All-Freshman team. She ranks in the Top 10 in seven statistical categories at Chattanooga including 3-point shooting.
 
Besides the win over Rutgers, the Lady Mocs recorded wins over Louisville, Florida State and a thriller against Ole Miss.
 
"Chattanooga, as a university for women's basketball, was really overlooked," Warfield said. "We weren't seen as competition, so to beat these teams from bigger conferences or to have these really tight games with them, that was a really big deal.
 
"I felt like it was a really big deal because I knew that it hadn't been done yet. When you're in the midst of it, you feel like you're doing something special. Even now looking back, I can't believe some of the things that we did."
 
The team made trips to San Diego, Hawai'i, Dallas and Washington, D.C.
 
"It's one of those lifetime opportunities," Warfield recalled of the trips. "I haven't been back to places like Hawai'i and San Diego. Those are experiences I remember. We have pictures of all of us and I can remember certain moments and things we did.
 
"We went to the Dole plantation in Hawai'i and the zoo in San Diego. We went to Texas and D.C., in the same year and there was ice on the roads in Dallas and it was warm in Washington. We kept thinking there is something wrong with this picture.
 
"Those trips are memories that last forever."
 
Another memory about her time at Chattanooga was the fan support the women received.
 
"I watched our fan base grow year after year after year!" Warfield shared. "I specifically remember the "big" trips we made like Hawai'i and California and having those supporters travel with us. They would cheer us on just like a regular home game.
 
"Without fans in the stands, the program would not have evolved like it did. I'm very thankful for the loyal supporters we had and still have."
 
Wes Moore, who earned his endearing nickname "Frankie" with this team after watching "Sister Act 2" on a road trip, was tough.
 
"He is a great guy. Hi toughness on us, now that I'm in the real world, I definitely carry that with me," Warfield said. "I try not to give up on things. I learned to push through. I was taught a lot of life lessons playing ball. I carry that with me."