CHATTANOOGA --- The quest for a second consecutive Southern Conference Tournament title begins Monday for Shawn Poppie's Chattanooga women's basketball crew, as the second year of the Poppie era opens with a home clash on November 6 with Division II foe, King University.
The Mocs are coming off a 20-13 record in 2022-23, which included going 9-5 in SoCon play in the team's first year under Coach Poppie. UTC will open the new season by facing off with the King University Tornado, who finished their 2022-23 season 9-21 overall.
The game, which will be available to stream on ESPN+, marks the first of 14 total home games on the Mocs' 2023-24 regular season schedule.
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Date: Monday, November 6, 2023
Time: 11:00 a.m. ET
Follow the game live online on ESPN+, WFLI, The Varsity App or the GoMocs App. Link are available online at GoMocs.com. Tickets are on sale at GoMocs.com and The McKenzie Arena box office.
GAME DAY PROMOTION: EDUCATION DAY
Monday's game against King not only marks UTC's season-opener, but also continues the tradition of the Mocs hosting Education Day at McKenzie Arena. For Chattanooga women's basketball's game, McKenzie Arena will be packed full of screaming elementary school kids that are there to cheer on the Mocs.
ABOUT CHATTANOOGA (0-0, 0-0 SoCon)
While Chattanooga women's basketball may only have seven players returning from last year's team, 2023-24 is by no means a rebuild for the defending Southern Conference Tournament champions. It's a reload. After dipping into the transfer portal to add some proven talent from across the nation, as well as adding a trio of talented freshman that can slot into the UTC lineup on day one, the Mocs have their sights set on going back-to-back as SoCon Tournament champions for the tenth time in program history. Key returners for Chattanooga include reigning SoCon Freshman of the Year and SoCon Tournament MVP, Raven Thompson, as well as the junior duo of Addie Grace Porter and Sigrun Olafsdottir.
While the Mocs lost their leading scorer last year in Yazz Wazeerud-Din, they still have plenty of weapons to turn to. This includes Thompson, who averaged 14.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last year, as well as freshman Hannah Kohn, who set the high school single-game three-point record with 19 threes her junior year at Hagerty High School. Guard Addie Grace Porter also serves as a scrappy, high-effort player returning to UTC's lineup after averaging a SoCon-leading 6.0 defensive rebounds per game in 2022-23.
ABOUT KING (0-0, 0-0 Coastal Carolinas)
King University returns to McKenzie Arena for the second consecutive year to take on the Mocs, and while this matchup will once again not count towards their official record, the Division II squad will be looking for revenge from a season ago. King is coming off a 2022-23 season in which they finished 9-21 (8-12 Conference Carolinas), scoring the most three-pointers (191) of any other team in the Conference Carolinas in the process.
While the Tornado lost one of the team's leading scorers, Tori Smiley, to the transfer portal, King still possesses a ton of fire power that the Mocs will look to shutdown on Monday. Brianna Dunbar, who averaged 10.9 points per game a season ago, has returned for her senior season and will be paired alongside guard Ashley Allen to disrupt UTC's offensive flow. Allen averaged 2.3 steals per game last year for the Tornado, ranking second in the Conference Carolinas.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
The last time that Chattanooga and King squared off on the basketball court was also the very first time that they squared off on the basketball court. Nearly one year ago the Mocs hosted the Tornado at McKenzie Arena, as UTC and King met for a non-conference clash on November 26, 2022. In the game, Chattanooga was able to win its third consecutive game by taking down the Tornado 62-47 to improve to 5-3 overall. The Mocs were led by an Abbey Cornelius double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) alongside Yazz Wazeerud-Din scoring a team-high 15 points that included three from behind the arc. Addie Grace Porter pitched in an additional 11 points and a then-career-high seven assists while pulling down five boards. Raven Thompson just missed out on getting the double-double, but she did finish with a career-high 16 rebounds (still her career-high rebounding total today) paired with nine points.
TOP NOTES
- UTC is coming off 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 needs just seven points against King to tie herself as the third-fastest player in Chattanooga WBB history to reach 500 career points, with Thompson set to play in just her 34th game with the team.
- Both Thompson and grad transfer Jada Guinn earned Preseason All-SoCon nods from the conference prior to the start of the season.
- Guinn is 16 points shy of reaching 1,000 career points. All 984 of her current point total came during her time at Tennessee Tech.
- Freshman Hannah Kohn, who holds the national high school record for three-pointers in a single game (19), is set to make her debut for the Mocs. Kohn also holds the Florida state record for most career three-pointers made (538), just 22 shy of the national record (560).
- Sigrun Olafsdottir is likely to make what will be her 85th career start for the Mocs in Monday's matchup with King. Olafsdottir has started in all but three games in her time at UTC.
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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