CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs women's basketball took a simple axiom really seriously…"you only get one chance to make a first impression." The ladies took it to heart starting the Coach Shawn Poppie Era off with a 65-39 win over Young Harris Monday night in McKenzie Arena.
 
Yazz Wazeerud-Din led all scorers with 20 points while making four of the Mocs 14 steals. Raven Thompson and Addie Grace Porter added 10 apiece. Thompson chipped nine rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Porter had seven rebounds and three steals.
 
The Mocs defense forced 25 turnovers for the visitors from Young Harris. JaMari Frederick and Dustie Obah paced the Mountain Lions with seven points apiece.
 
"It's fun to get the first one," a water bottle shower drenched coach declared to begin his postgame press conference. "We had some nervous energy to start, from the coaches too," he grinned. "I thought we played hard and with good energy. We didn't execute well early on, but we really found our footing, especially in the second quarter.
 
"Overall, I'm pleased with the start. Now we have some film against somebody else to work on and get prepared right away for Belmont."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Mocs led 19-13 after one quarter but put the pedal to the metal over the second 10 minutes. They matched their 19-point output, but completely shutdown the Mountain Lions allowing one field goal and one free throw for a three spot in the second.
 
That essentially put the game away up 38-16 at the break before settling with the 65-39 final margin. The middle half of the contest, the Mocs out-scored their visitors 35-15 shooting 43.8 percent, while limiting the opposition to just 28.6 percent shooting (6-21).
 
It was a steady progression throughout the evening. The 26-point win didn't include a solitary dominating scoring run with the largest being an 11-0 spurt in the second quarter. The ladies simply put the game away with a strong defensive effort by not allowing Young Harris an opening to storm back on either end of the floor.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Chattanooga
FG%: 38.3 | 23-60
3pt%: 30.4 | 7-23
FT%: 63.2 | 12-19
 
Young Harris
FG%: 31.1 | 14-45
3pt%: 33.3 | 4-12
FT%: 46.7 | 7-15
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Rebound Margin: +4 (38-34) | Second Chance Points: 7-2
Turnover Margin: +11 (14-25) | Points Off TO's: 15-10
Points in the Paint: 32-18
 
RECORDS – Chattanooga (1-0) – Young Harris (0-0)
 
SERIES – Chattanooga leads the all-time series 1-0.
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- The Mocs led for 33:33 after a see-saw start saw five lead changes and three ties. Took the lead for good on a Yazz pull-up jumper in the paint with 2:06 to go in the first. It was part of eight straight points from the grad transfer from Stetson.
 
- 14 steals are the most by the Mocs since that same number in a 65-48 win over Wofford on Feb. 6, 2016.
 
- Porter was a game-high +26 (score difference when on the court) averaging nearly a point per minute advantage for her side playing 29:33 tonight.
 
NEXT GAME – Chattanooga at Belmont – Wed., Nov. 9 – 7:30PM (ET) – ESPN+.
 
MOCS TRI-PACK TICKET DEAL
The final home football weekend has two friends at home as well with men's and women's basketball competing in the Roundhouse. For just $25, fans get tickets to all three games with men's basketball on Thursday, Nov. 10, and football and women's hoops in action on Saturday the 12th.
 
MBB vs. Oakland City, 7 p.m.
FB vs. Samford, 1:30 p.m.
WBB vs. Austin Peay, 7 p.m.
 
Tickets can be purchased online at gomocs.com/tickets.
 
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.