MOCS HOST WESTERN CAROLINA IN MIDWEEK SOCON MATCHUP AT THE ROUNDHOUSE

The Mocs return home this week to host Western Carolina Wednesday evening at the McKenzie Arena. The Mocs are 11-5 overall and 2-0 in Southern Conference action while the Catamounts are 4-12 on the year and 0-2 in league play. The game is set to tip at 6:30 p.m. at the McKenzie Arena. Tickets are available at the arena box office or online at GoMocs.com.

 

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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Where: The McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, Tenn.
When: 6:30 p.m.
 
MEDIA INFORMATION
Video: Available on the SoCon Digital Network
Audio: 96.1 FM The Legend | GoMocs.com | iHeart Radio app available on smart devices
Live Scoring: Women's Basketball Schedule page at GoMocs.com
 
TICKETS
Online at GoMocs.com and the McKenzie Arena box office (423-266-6627 [MOCS])
 
 

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SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA (11-5)          
The Mocs closed out the non-conference slate with a 9-5 mark and opened Southern Conference action with back-to-back wins at Wofford and Furman. UTC faced four Top 25 opponents in the non-confrence slate, including top-ranked UConn, and went 2-1 in the Preseason WNIT. The Mocs, with six wins over its last seven games, rank second in the league behind Mercer (12-5) overall and are even with the Bears and Samford after two games in league play. UTC is eighth in the league standings for scoring with 53.6 points per game with opponents scoring just 54.4 points per game. The Mocs lead the SoCon in shooting, making 40.0 percent from the field and are 28.8 from beyond the arc. On the boards, UTC is pulling down 35.1 rebounds per game and average 10.8 assists.
 
Jasmine Joyner leads the team with 11.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game after scoring 21 points and grabbing 20 boards (her 2nd career 20-20 game) at Furman. She has 61 blocked shots on the year, the most in the NCAA and is ranked second for blocked shots per game with 5.6. Keiana Gilbert is he only other UTC player in double figures with 11.3 points per game. She averages 5.4 rebounds and is shooting 43.0 percent. Moses Johnson is second on the team in rebounding with 6.2 per game and averages 6.0 points. Queen Alford scored a season-high 20 points in the Mocs' win over Wofford and is third on the team in scoring with 7.6 ppg while Alicia Payne has a team-best 53 assists, a 1.7 assist-turnover ratio and is fourth on the team with 6.6 points per game.
 
Head Coach Jim Foster now has 852 career wins in his 38^th season as a head coach. He has more than 200 wins at each of his previous three schools – only the second coach in NCAA history to achieve that mark – and has 69 wins in his third season with the Mocs.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN CAROLINA (4-12)
The Catamounts started the season wtih a pair of wins and then have gone 2-12 since including a pair of losses in the Southern Conference. WCU hosted Mercer in its last outing and went into overtime with the Bears, falling short by a 92-88 margin. Western Carolina is third in the league averaging 62.6 points per game but gives up a league-worst 69.7 points per game. The Cats are shooting 38.7 percent from the field and 70.3 percent (2nd in the SoCon) from the free throw line. On the boards, WCU is second in the SoCon with 40.4 rebounds per game and allows its opponents 39.8 per game.

Ace Easter leads the team in scoring, and is ranked 10th in the SoCon with 10.8 points per game. Sherae Bonner has 8.5 points and is fourth in the league for rebounding with 7.6 boards per game. She is shooting a team-best 44.7 percent and Erika Joseph has a team-best 1.6 steals per game.

Head Coach Stephanie McCormick enters her first season at the helm of the Catamounts after serving as an assistant at Western Carolina on two different occasions.

CHATTANOOGA VS. WESTERN CAROLINA
The series between Chattanooga and Western Carolina dates back the late 1970's and is Chattanooga's longest running rivalry. The Mocs won the first 13 meetings. WCU won the next two before UTC ran off a 19 game win streak against the Catamounts. Chattanooga is currently riding a 10-game win streak against the Cats and have won 31 of the last 36 games. The Mocs have a 67-11 advantage against Western Carolina and are 32-5 in Chattanooga against the Catamounts.

Overall Record    Chattanooga leads 67-11
Home Record    32-5
Away Record    27-6
Neutral Record    8-0
Overtime Record    2-2

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INDIVIDUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Joyner Second in the Nation • Jasmine Joyner has 55 blocked shots this season, averaging 3.4 per game, and is second in the NCAA after leading the nation for several weeks.

Joyner Breaks School Record • Junior Jasmine Joyner matched her McKenzie Arena record for blocked shots with seven against UT Martin to reach 221 for her career tying her with Alex Anderson (2003-08) for the Chattanooga record. Against UConn, Joyner's first block of the game gave her the school record. Last year she broke the SoCon record for blocked shots in a season with 132 and set the school single game record with eight at Notre Dame. She moved to fourth in the SoCon on the career list with 249. The record is 339 set by Davidson's Sophia Aleksandravicius (2009-13).

Jasmine Joyner named CSM SoCon Player of the Week • Junior Jasmine Joyner averaged 17 points and 8.7 rebounds the week of Nov. 23-29 to earn College Sports Madness Player of the Week honors for the SoCon. She scored a career-high 31 points against UTM Saturday, recording her third double-double of the year with 15 rebounds and added seven blocked shots to tie the UTC career record for rejections.

Keiana Gilbert tabbed CSM SoCon Player of the Week • Sophomore Keiana Gilbert was selected the College Sports Madness Southern Conference Player of the Week for her performance on the court. She dropped in 19 points in UTC's season opener against McNeese State and had six rebounds.

Joyner Records Trio of Double-Doubles • Junior Jasmine Joyner recorded her 11th career double-double and third of the season with a career-high 31 points and 15 rebounds against UT Martin.

Johnson Hits Career Marks with Double-Doubles • Just three days after reaching her career-high for rebounds, junior Moses Johnson recorded career-bests against Belmont in scoring (15) and rebounding (12) and a season-best for assists (3). It was also her first career double-double. She followed that with her second straight double-double against ECU scoring a career-high 16 points. In her fourth start this year at UNCW, she reached a new career-best with 14 rebounds.

Career-Records Beyond the Arc • Four Mocs have career-highs from beyond the 3-point line this season. Centers Jasmine Joyner and Ansley Chilton have each dropped in three from beyond the arc while Anna Claire Noblit showed off her skills to spark a come-from-behind win for the Mocs with three against Arkansas State. Joyner had three against Southern Miss while Chilton hit 3-of-4 against the Lady Vols. Alicia Payne hit for three at Stanford draining her third at the buzzer.

 

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TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS
game. Penn leads the nation committing just 10.8 per game. 

Defending the Line • After jumping 23 spots from 25th to second in 3-point field goal defense for holding Wofford 0-for-18, the Mocs are now ninth, allowing opponents to make just 24.5 percent of their attempts from long range.

Mocs in the RPI • Chattanooga's schedule this season has been tough and that is reflected in its RPI rating. The Mocs are 43rd as of Jan. 10. 

Reaching a Milestone • Chattanooga reached its 800th program win on December 13 with a 62-53 win at home against Belmont. The Mocs became the 33rd program in the NCAA to reach the 800-win plateau. The Mocs rank 30th all-time for winning percentage winning 63.5 percent of its games through the 2014-15 season.

Winning Program • Over the last five years, the Mocs have posted an overall record of 126-36 (.778), ranking them tied with Hampton for 14th in the NCAA for winning percentage over that time and 19th for wins.

Hot at Home • UTC won its first five home games this year extending its home-court win streak to 17 games before falling to UConn at the end of November. UTC has won 59 of its last 61 games in the Roundhouse (97%). Those wins include two versus Tennessee (#4 - 2014/#20 - 2012) and #7 Stanford (2014).

Mocs Block Party • The Mocs lead the Southern Conference in blocked shots per game and are ranked 19th in the NCAA with 5.6 per game as a team. Morehead State has an NCAA-best 7.0 per game.

Taking Care of the Rock • The Mocs have been known for their turnovers this season, committing 156 through its first nine games, averaging 17.3 times per game. However, against Belmont, UTC gave the ball away just four times! That matches a game-low against Samford on 2/2/11.

Long-Range Bombers • The Mocs have made at least one 3-pointer in 514 consecutive games dating back to December 1999. Chattanooga reached the 500-game mark against Butler in its second game this year.

Mocs 2-1 in Preseason WNIT • The Mocs went 2-1 in the Preseason WNIT for the second time. UTC opened the season with a win over McNeese State then fell at Indiana in the second round. In the consolation bracket, Chattanooga got the win over Southern Miss in overtime.

Mocs Get Overtime Win • The Mocs had to use another five minutes to get past Southern Mississippi in the consolation bracket of the Presason WNIT. It was the Mocs first OT game of the year, winning 53-48. UTC is 22-21 all-time in overtime.

Home Openers • When opening the season at home, the Mocs are 14-4 and have won each of the last five with a win over McNeese State at home this year. In all openers the Mocs are 32-10.

42 Seasons • UTC begins its 42nd season of play as a varsity sport and has had just five coaches in it's history. The Mocs are 800-424 over that time, averaging just under 20 wins per season.

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THE COMPETITION
Four Mocs Opponents Ranked Among the Best • Chattanooga has faced three opponents ranked in the AP Top 25 with one more to go. The Mocs are 0-3 so far with losses to No. 1 UConn at home, #4 Tennessee in Knoxville after a furious comeback fell short and #21 South Florida in Tampa. Chattanooga will travel west to take on the Cardinal on December 28. Stanford is ranked 15th.

Southern Conference Win Streak • The Mocs have lost just one game in three years against the Southern Conference. After falling to Elon on the road in overtime in January 2013, the Mocs have won 48 consecutive games against the Southern Conference and has the longest active win streak in the nation. The record is 124 set by Texas, Southwest from 1981-1990. When including postseason games, UTC has won 57 consecutive games against the league, seventh best all-time.

Doubleheaders on the Slate • The Chattanooga men's and women's teams will take part in six doubleheaders. The first will be on the road at Furman on January 9. The next five will be at home with one more in January and the last four in February.

Tournament Champions • UTC defeated East Carolina 72-61 in Game One of the UNCW Seahawk Christmas Classic. The Mocs followed that with a 61-33 win over the host Seahawks in the finale.

SoCon Tournament • The Southern Conference Tournament will be held in Asheville, N.C., March 5-8. All rounds will be played in the U.S. Cellular Center this year.