CHATTANOOGA --- The defense of the Chattanooga women's basketball team was on full display in the team's final home game of 2023 this Sunday, as the Mocs were able to shut down Eastern Kentucky 52-44 to claim UTC's ninth consecutive win on the year.
The Mocs (11-1, 0-0 SoCon) found themselves down early against a very difficult EKU team (9-3, 0-0 ASUN), but UTC was able to get out the clamps to hold a Colonel side that usually averages over 80 points/game to just 44 in McKenzie Arena to ultimately come away with the win.
"First and foremost, thank you to the fans," head coach Shawn Poppie said. "Mocs Nation came out for a six-o'clock Sunday evening game. You felt it. We're slowly building it. Come out to show some support. This group is a phenomenal group of people that play for each other. They're doing things the right way. So thanks to the ones that came. We look forward to continuing to build it in the new year. The next piece, before I talk about the game, I want to make sure I thank our administration. Mark Wharton, Jay Blackman, the crew that flipped this arena around. We had graduation here the last couple of days. I think that shows support that we have for our women's basketball program for them to be willing to flip it that fast to allow us to play one last home game before we hit the road before the holidays and didn't bat an eye. Thank you so much to the staff that put that on and was able to flip the court and get this thing ready to have a game tonight."
The Mocs were able to put the first points of the night up on the board, but the lead would be short-lived for UTC as the Colonels proceeded to respond with a 10-0 scoring run that saw EKU leading 10-2 early-on in the night. The Mocs would respond however, with Chattanooga going on an 8-0 scoring run of their own to level things at 10-10. Scoring would virtually stall at this point, with each team only connecting on two more buckets before EKU took a 15-14 lead into quarter two.
Needing to come up with big defensive stops, UTC put on a defensive masterclass over the next 10 minutes of action, holding Eastern Kentucky to just four total points in the second quarter to outscore the Colonels. Even with the Mocs only scoring eight points of their own, they found themselves ahead of EKU 22-19 as the teams made their way to their respective halftime locker rooms.
Offenses for both sides continued to stall as time ticked away in the third quarter, but even so the Mocs were able to keep EKU at bay for the entirety of the frame as Chattanooga carried a 34-30 lead into the last quarter of action.
Both offenses found some life early in the fourth, as UTC and EKU traded buckets before some three-pointers by the Colonels saw things knotted up at 36-36 with 6:41 remaining in the game. As time drained from McKenzie Arena's clock, both teams scrapped to find whatever offense they could get their hands on in order to grind out the victory.
That next possession, center Karsen Murphy was able to connect on a clutch three-pointer of her own to put the Mocs back one top. The three marked the Mocs' very first of the night, having started the game 0-for-10 from behind the arc. Now galvanized by Murphy's trifecta, Sigrun Olafsdottir would hit on a three-pointer of her own with 5:44 left to play, once again giving Chattanooga a 42-39 advantage.
EKU wouldn't go away quietly despite UTC finally breaking through from three-point range, as with just under two minutes left to play the Mocs held onto just a one-point, 45-44 lead. Needing another clutch bucket, Murphy delivered once again from three hitting a triple right in front of an elated UTC bench to extend the Moc lead to 48-44 with 1:05 left on the clock.
From this point on, EKU could do nothing but play the fouling game. Clutch free throws by multiple Mocs, as well as numerous defensive stops by Chattanooga helped seal this one as when the dust settled in the Roundhouse, the Mocs found themselves winners once again by the final score of 52-44.
With the win, the Mocs now hold sole possession of the second-best start to a season in program history after starting the year 11-1. The team trails only the 1983-84 UTC team that opened the year 13-1 before ultimately going 26-5 and going on to win both the Southern Conference Regular Season and Tournament titles. The Mocs have now also won nine games in a row, tying themselves for the 10th-longest win streak in program history.
Jada Guinn would lead all scorers with 19 points in the victory. She has now scored 10+ points in every game this season and has led UTC in scoring for the entirety of the team's win streak (nine games). Karsen Murphy also finished in double-digits with 11 points, just her seventh 10+ point outing of her career.
The rebounding of Addie Grace Porter also played a crucial part in the team's victory, with Porter coming away with a team-best 10 boards. This not only ties her season-high, but is now her eighth 10+ rebounding performance of her career. Freshman Caia Elisaldez finished with a career-high and team-high three steals in the win, while Raven Thompson came off the bench to lead the team with two blocks on the night.
FROM THE HEAD COACH | QUOTES
On the 3-point shot not falling for the first three quarters
"I just felt all the way, not only 3-balls, but how many missed layups did we have? It was just one of them days offensively. I thought they did a good job of mixing their coverages whether they slid up underneath then pressured us and it kind of took us out of rhythm. We became reliant on Jada [Guinn] for a little while I think she got tired. I told them at the four minute mark, this would be one of them games we've played so sloppy offensively but we've worked our tail off defensively. Let's not walk in there and think, 'boy, what what we just wasted'. We make shots. That's who we are. Step up with some confidence, deliver it on time and knock it down. That three Karsen Murphy hit in the corner right in front of our bench was a dagger I felt. It's back to what I talked about a couple weeks ago. She's getting what she deserves. She's put the work in all year, a year ago didn't get what I thought she deserved because she couldn't quite figure it out. We've turned her into a five, a stretch five, and she's made a lot of big time plays for us. So stay with it. That's just who we are. At some point it'll drop and that just happened to drop when we really, really needed it."
On the 3-point shot from Karsen Murphy
"It's a dagger not only because it went in, but they had a really good defensive possession for 28 seconds. We drive it, they overhelp. It's unorthodox for their center to guard that drive with our center in the corner. I thought the wind kinda came out of their sails a little bit. You play really good for 28 seconds and then lose focus for two and we take advantage."
On the defense of Sigrun Olafsdottir holding EKU's top player (23/game) to two points.
"Sigrun Olafsdottir is the Defensive Player of the Year in our league. No doubt about it in my opinion. She guards the other team's best player every night and makes it difficult and tonight. It was not only her, but her teammates. We really tried to get in gaps and make it difficult and try to get it our of her [Antwainette Walker, EKU]. I felt like we did a really good job team defense, but individually, didn't have to pull to much help because Sigrun was there every step of the way. So that's what her value is to us."
On the return of Raven Thompson after missing one game due to injury
"It was great to see her back out there. She practiced yesterday and was at our shoot around today and she looks fine. I was just curious of her mind. I asked her after shoot around, 'do you want to play? I don't want to make that decision. If you think you're ready, the trainer says you're ready. You're testing better than you did before the injury with all the stuff that she's doing laterally. But I want your mind to make sure' and she said 'I want to play' and so it depend on lineups and just kind of see how it went. She made her first cut and I said 'she's fine.'"
TOP TAKEAWAYS | NOTES
- All-time series between the Mocs and Colonels now moves to 2-4 in favor of EKU.
- This marks UTC's first win over Eastern Kentucky since December 3, 2006.
- The Mocs now stand alone as the second-best start to a season in program history, starting the year 11-1.
- The program record for best start to a season came in 1983-84, when Chattanooga started the year 13-1.
- UTC has now won nine games in a row, the team's the team's longest win streak since the team won 11 straight back in the 2015-16 season.
- Chattanooga's nine consecutive wins is currently tied for the 10th-longest win streak in program history.
- UTC has now earned its 11th non-conference win of the 2023-24 season, the most non-conference wins in a single season since 2015-16 (12).
- This is the second game in a row that the Mocs have run with the starting lineup of Elisaldez, Porter, Guinn, Olafsdottir and Murphy. This starting five is now 2-0 on the year.
- The Mocs have led 11 out of 12 games this season at halftime.
- EKU was held to just four total points in the second quarter, tying for the second-fewest allowed in a single quarter this year by the Mocs:
1. 2 points - Tennessee Tech - 1Q
T2. 4 points - Eastern Kentucky - 2Q
T2. 4 points - Kent State - 2Q
- This was also the sixth time this season that UTC has held its opponent to single-digits in a quarter.
- Jada Guinn has scored 10+ points in every game this season for the Mocs.
- The Mocs did not make a three-pointer until the 6:18 mark of the fourth quarter. The team has made a three in each of its last 755 games dating back to 1999, the second-longest streak in the entire NCAA (unofficially).
- With just three three-pointers made, the Mocs tied their season-low which was set in UTC's win over North Alabama.
- Chattanooga's 52 points are also the second-fewest scored in a game this season. The lowest came against Kennesaw State, in which they scored 49 in a win.
- Guinn and Thompson have now accounted for 373 of Chattanooga's 791 total points on the year (47.2 percent of team's scoring output).
- UTC shot 40.4 percent (19-for-47) from the field. The Mocs have shot 40 percent or above from the floor in every game this season.
- The Mocs won the turnover battle over the Colonels, 24-14.
UP NEXT: CHEROKEE INVITATIONAL
The Mocs will now close out the year of 2023 with two more games, this time coming at a neutral venue with the team set to take part in the Cherokee Invitational December 20-21 in Cherokee, North Carolina. To open the tournament, UTC will face off with Coastal Carolina (5-6) at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 20. Depending on the result of that game, as well as the other tournament matchup, the Mocs will play on Thursday, December 21 at either 7 p.m. ET or approximately 9:30 p.m. ET against the loser or winner of Michigan State (8-2) versus Richmond (9-2) from a day prior. The winners will play at the later start time on Thursday. All games for the tournament will be available to stream on BallerTV by purchasing a viewing pass for the tournament through the site. A tournament pass runs at $19.99. Fans will also be able to catch both UTC games on the radio on 96.1 FM/100.3 FM/1070 AM or through The Varsity Network app.
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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