CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team will host East Tennessee State Saturday afternoon at the McKenzie Arena in the Southern Conference opener for both teams.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
SITE: Chattanooga, Tenn. (The McKenzie Arena)
TIME: 2:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
RADIO: WFLI 95.7FM (106.1 FM/1480 AM - Marion County/North Alabama)
LIVE STATS: GoMocs.com
 
ABOUT CHATTANOOGA
The Mocs are 5-The Mocs are 5-4 on the year after closing out their non-conference slate. UTC is averaging 71.3 points per game, second-best in the SoCon and have a league-best 42.8 field goal percentage. The Mocs are also the best 3-point shooting team in the league making 34.4% of their shots from distance. From the arc, UTC has a conference-high 67, 7.4 per game and dropped in 14 against former SoCon foe Georgia Southern earlier this season. Eboni Williams leads UTC with 15.1 points and is second on the team with 7.3 rebounds per game. Bria Dial, with a team-best 22 3-pointers, is second on the team in scoring with 11.9 points per game and Abbey Cornelius has a team-high 8.2 boards per game and is third in scoring with 8.3 points per game.
 
ABOUT EAST TENNESSEE STATE
The Bucs are 2-5 on the year with a season-opening win at Longwood and a non-conference finale win over Newberry at home. ETSU fell to SEC foes Tennessee and Vanderbilt, former SoCon foes Davidson and Appalachian State and at home against Presbyterian. The Bucs average 58.6 points and 40.1 rebounds per game. Mykia Dowdell leads ETSU with 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and is 11-of-22 from long range. Jakhyia Davis is second on the team with 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
 
CHATTANOOGA VS. EAST TENNESSEE STATE
The Mocs and Bucs series dates back to 1975. UTC won the first five games and lead the series 59-24. Chattanooga won both games last season including a thrilling triple overtime contest.
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
In Southern Conference action last season, the Mocs came away with a pair of wins against the Bucs. UTC closed out the season with a 69-65 win on Senior Night, but the most thrilling game was played in Johnson City. UTC and ETSU battled to triple overtime with the Mocs rallying in the final extra period to a 91-82 victory.
 
EBONI WILLIAMS EARNS BACK-TO-BACK SOCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Eboni Williams recorded her second straight double-double of the year with 17 points and 12 rebounds at North Alabama, earning her a second consecutive Player of the Week honor by the Southern Conference and College Sports Madness. She added in a season-high three steals and two assists.
 
EBONI WILLIAMS NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior Eboni Williams was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 23 and the Tennessee Sports Writer's Association Player of the Week on the same day. She was named the College Sports Madness SoCon Player of the Week in back-to-back selections.
 
MOCS MAKE IT RAIN 3'S AGAINST GEORGIA SOUTHERN: The Mocs, led by Bria Dial's career-high seven 3-pointers, dropped in 14 against former SoCon foe Georgia Southern just before the holiday break. That was two off the school and SoCon record set against the Eagles in 2010.
 
LONG-RANGE BOMBERS: The Mocs have made at least one 3-pointer in 661 consecutive games dating back to December 1999. That's more than 21 years! Chattanooga reached the 600-consecutive game mark against UT Martin on November 28, 2018 at the Roundhouse. According to current unofficial research, this is the second-longest streak in the nation behind Iowa State's  800-plus dating back to 1995.
 
MOCS ADD THRILLING ENDING TO GAMES: UTC earned a one-point victory at Austin Peay on a buzzer-beater by freshman Anna Walker assisted by sophomore Dena Jarrells. At the Georgia State Holiday Classic, the Mocs beat the host Panthers in overtime spurred on by Eboni Williams' 30-points and 10 rebounds.
 
DELAYED START LEADS TO CROWDED SCHEDULE: Due to the pandemic, the Mocs season didn't get started until December 6, leading to eight games in just 16 days. After a heart-break loss to Vanderbilt, UTC went 3-1 to close out the stretch and added a win over North Alabama to close out the non-conference schedule.