CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team claimed its 21^st Southern Conference regular season title, tying Mercer at 12-2, and earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
 
The Mocs, 18-10 overall, will open the tournament at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 2 against Western Carolina at the U.S. Cellular Center in the quarterfinals. Chattanooga is 72-11 against the Catamounts and 10-0 in postseason play, including last year's 74-56 victory.
 
Chattanooga is averaging 65.7 points per game against the Southern Conference and leads the league in scoring margin with an average of 10.9 points. The Mocs are ranked first in the SoCon for field and free throw shooting percentage and are first in the NCAA for fewest fouls per game.
 
Jasmine Joyner leads the nation with four blocked shots per game and is the only SoCon player averaging a double-double for the year with 12.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Chelsey Shumpert is second on the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game and is first in the conference from the free throw line, making 82.7 percent of her attempts. Freshman Lakelyn Bouldin has a team-high 56 3-pointers and is third on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game.
 
Western Carolina finished the season at 8-21 overall and 3-11 against the Southern Conference. The Cats defeated Furman in overtime followed by a win over Wofford two days later. WCU closed out the regular season with a 77-73 win over UNCG at the Ramsey Center.
 
The Catamounts average 57.2 points per game and are outscored by their opponents by 9.5 points per game. On the boards, WCU averages 35.3 rebounds and is shooting 36.7 percent.
 
Raziyah Farrington and Sherae Bonner lead the team in scoring with 10.3 and 10.1 points respectively. Bonner is second in the SoCon in rebounding with 9.0 per game and Farrington leads the conference in 3-point shooting making 45.3 percent of shots put up.
 
Chattanooga beat the Catamounts 67-46 in January at home and followed that with a 60-48 win in Cullowhee.
 
The game is set to tip off at 11:30 a.m. as part of the Education Day experience in Asheville. Follow all the action online at GoMocs.com. Live scoring and ESPN3 video links as well as a link to Real 96.1 FM radio broadcast will be available on the women's basketball schedule page at GoMocs.com.


2017 Southern Conference Women's Basketball Championship presented by General Shale
U.S. Cellular Center ? Asheville, N.C.
 
Thursday, March 2
Game 1 – No. 1 Chattanooga vs. No. 8 Western Carolina, 11:30 a.m.
Game 2 – No. 4 UNCG vs. No. 5 Furman, 1:45 p.m.
Game 3 – No. 2 Mercer vs. No. 7 Wofford, 4 p.m.
Game 4 – No. 3 ETSU vs. No. 6 Samford, 6:15 p.m.
 
Friday, March 3
Game 5 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 11 a.m.
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 1:15 p.m.
 
Sunday, March 5
Championship Game
Game 7 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 1 p.m.
 
NOTE: All times Eastern. All games to be broadcast on ESPN3.