COOKEVILLE, Tenn. --- Chattanooga women's basketball is primed for a clash of 2023 NCAA Tournament teams on Wednesday, as the Mocs are set to travel to Cookeville, Tennessee, to take on the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions, Tennessee Tech.
The Mocs (2-1, 0-0 SoCon) suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday at the hands of Marshall, but now UTC has their sights set on returning to the win column against the Golden Eagles (0-1, 0-0 OVC), who will be gunning for their first win of the 2023-24 season. Chattanooga has never won on the road in the 11 times that they've gone to Cookeville, and Coach Poppie and the rest of the UTC squad will be looking to change that Wednesday night.
Wednesday's game against the Golden Eagles is set for a 7 p.m. ET start at the Eblen Center with a live stream broadcast being offered by ESPN+. Fans can also catch the game over the radio by tuning in to 96.1 FM/100.3 FM/1070 AM to hear the always outstanding Larry Ward on the call.
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Follow the game live online on ESPN+, WFLI, The Varsity App or the GoMocs App. Links are available online at GoMocs.com.
ABOUT CHATTANOOGA (2-1, 0-0 SoCon)
Chattanooga enters its contest with Tennessee Tech holding a record of 2-1 on the year following a 79-74 loss by the Mocs against non-conference foe Marshall on Sunday. This season the Mocs have been rooted in shutting down their opposition offensively, as UTC currently ranks 13th in the nation in scoring defense by allowing just 54.3 points/game. This mimics the team's defensive successes from a year ago in 2022-23, when Chattanooga ended the season ranked No. 13 in the country and No. 1 on the SoCon in scoring defense (54.8). Beyond that, the Mocs also rank as one of the best shooting teams in the Southern Conference as the team ranks first in the league when it comes to field goal percentage (.526) and free throw percentage (.750), alongside ranking second in three-point percentage (.426).
UTC's offense has been powered thus far by the two-headed scoring machine that is Raven Thompson and Jada Guinn. Of Chattanooga's 219 points scored so far this season, 101 of them have come from the duo of Thompson and Guinn with Thompson averaging a team-high 17.7 points/game while Guinn trails closely behind at 16.0 points/game. Wednesday's game will be a homecoming of sorts for Guinn, as it marks her return to the Eblen Center after spending her previous four seasons playing for Tennessee Tech prior to transferring to Chattanooga. Hannah Kohn will also serve as a lethal option for the Mocs to turn to from three-point range, as the young freshman has already lit up much of UTC's competition to start the season with her ranking 19th in the country in total three-pointers made (9), 45th in three-point percentage (.643) and 54th in three-pointers made/game (3.0). The Mocs' defense will also be anchored by Sigrun Olafsdottir, whose 2.3 steals/game average ranks third in the Southern Conference.
ABOUT TENNESSEE TECH (0-1, 0-0 OVC)
The reigning Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions had a slow start to their 2023-24 season a little over a week ago on November 6, as the Golden Eagles traveled to Ball State where the Cardinals thumped TTU by a score of 97-64. Despite their 33-point loss to open the year, Tennessee Tech still has plenty to be excited about for this coming season as the Golden Eagles were able to retain nine total players, including four of their five starters, from last year's NCAA Tournament squad under Kim Rosamond. In fact, the lone starter to leave Tennessee Tech will still be on the court Wednesday night, as TTU transfer Jada Guinn is set to suit up against her former team after transferring to UTC this offseason.
Chattanooga will need to find a way to shut down guard Maaliya Owens if they are to find any success against the Golden Eagles on Wednesday, as Owens is coming off a year where she averaged 14.9 points/game, 2.9 rebounds/game and 2.1 assists/game in 2022-23. The grad student was selected as the Ohio Valley Conference's Preseason Player of the Year heading into 2023-24 and has since opened her season with an 11-point outing against Ball State. Owens will be paired alongside Peyton Carter and Yaubryon Chambers, both of whom shined after coming off the bench in the team's season-opener last week. Chambers finished the game as TTU's leading scorer with 13 points, while Carter offered up 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Golden Eagles.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
One would have to go back to the 2021-22 season to find the last time the Mocs and Golden Eagles squared off on the hardwood, as Tennessee Tech was able to claim an 85-58 victory over UTC in Cookeville on November 13, 2021. A total of five TTU players would finish the game in double-digits, including current Golden Eagles Maaliya Owens and Megan Clark as well as former Tennessee Tech guard Jada Guinn. The Mocs struggled to find the bottom of the net for much of the game, as TTU outshot UTC 58.9 percent to 34 percent. That, combined with Tennessee Tech's 46 total points in the paint, proved to be too much for Chattanooga in the end.
TOP NOTES
- Chattanooga is coming off of a year in which they won their 19th SoCon Tournament and made their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
- The Mocs were selected to finish first in the Preseason SoCon Media Poll and second in the Preseason SoCon Coaches Poll.
- Sophomore Raven Thompson became the third-fastest player in program history to reach 500 career points against King, doing so in just 34 career games.
- Both Thompson and grad transfer Jada Guinn earned Preseason All-SoCon nods from the conference prior to the season.
- UTC has relied heavily on the two-headed scoring monster of Thompson and Guinn to start the year. The duo has scored a combined 101 of the Mocs' 219 points this year, with Thompson averaging 17.7 and Guinn averaging 16.0 per game.
- The Mocs continue to be one of the most stout scoring defenses in the entire nation, only allowing 54.3 points/game this season to rank 13th in the entire NCAA. Last year, the Mocs finished 13th in the country in scoring defense (54.8), leading the SoCon in the category in the process.
50 SEASONS OF CHATTANOOGA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The 2023 season for the Chattanooga women's basketball team marks a major landmark for the program and the university, as UTC women's basketball officially celebrates its 50th season of competition as a university sponsored athletic program. Following the adoption of the Title IX legislation back in 1972, UTC added women's basketball, tennis and volleyball programs to its roster of athletic teams, bringing on five decades of history and success for each of the teams. Chattanooga WBB will be putting on multiple promotions and content pieces throughout the 2023-24 season to celebrate the program's history, culminating in the team hosting its 50th Season Celebration and Reunion during the Mocs' February 3 matchup against Furman at McKenzie Arena.
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