CHATTANOOGA --- It will be a matchup of the last two undefeated teams in SoCon play this Saturday in McKenzie Arena, as Chattanooga women's basketball welcomes long-time rival ETSU to the Roundhouse for some Southern Conference action on January 20.
The Mocs (14-3, 2-0 SoCon) have had a week off since their most recent blowout victory over Samford, and hopefully the team is able to put that rest to good use as the Buccaneers (13-4, 2-0 SoCon) will be gunning to leapfrog UTC for the top spot in the Southern Conference when all is said and done this Saturday.
Tipoff between Chattanooga and East Tennessee State is set for 2 p.m. ET in the Roundhouse, with ESPN+ live streaming and Larry Ward's WFLI (96.1 FM/100.3 FM/1070 AM) radio call both being available to fans. Live stats for the game can also be found on GoMocs.com.
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, January 20, 2024
Time: 2:00 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 (14-3, 2-0 SoCon)
A strong start to 2024 has the Mocs off and rolling as Southern Conference play ramps up, with the Mocs now standing as one of just two teams yet to lose a conference game in the league. It's safe to discern that much of UTC's success this season, and specifically in the team's first two SoCon matchups, can be credited to the incredibly efficient shooting spell that the Mocs have been on. Currently, Chattanooga leads the Southern Conference in team field goal percentage (.456), free throw percentage (.778) and three-point percentage (.377), while ranking in the Top 40 nationally in all three categories as well. Jada Guinn has somehow continued to exceed expectations for the Mocs, as now not only has the grad student scored 10+ points in all 17 games this season for UTC, but she has scored 20+ points in each of the last three games for Chattanooga. When Guinn has scored 20+ points this season, something she has done six times, the Mocs have a perfect record of 6-0.
ABOUT ETSU (13-4, 2-0 SoCon)
The Buccaneers have run parallel to the Mocs for much of the 2023-24 season, with ETSU's 13-4 record and 2-0 start to SoCon play currently seeing the Bucs just narrowly below UTC on the conference table. It'll be a battle for first place in the Southern Conference this Saturday, with a hard-nosed and defensive-focused ETSU team looking to disrupt Chattanooga's flow. If there's one thing that East Tennessee State can do, it's defend. The Buccaneers currently rank first in the SoCon when it comes to scoring defense (53.5), along with limiting their opponents to shoot just 36.8 percent on the year. Nevaeh Brown will be a major key to ETSU's success, specifically on the offensive side of the ball as Brown currently leads the Bucs in scoring by averaging 13.1 points/game. In the last eight games for ETSU, Brown has scored 10+ points a total of seven times including a 25-point outing against Gardner-Webb and 20-point performance against Power 5 foe Clemson. The Mocs will also need to deal with a pesky ETSU defense that loves to poke the ball loose, as right now a total of seven different players have each recorded over 10 steals this season for the team.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
The most recent meeting between these two long storied rivals came in the 2023 Southern Conference Tournament last season, as Chattanooga and ETSU met in the SoCon Semifinals for a spot in the title game in Asheville. Overall, it was an absolute dismantling in favor of UTC, with Chattanooga rolling to a blowout 69-40 victory over the Bucs behind a 23-point, 10-rebound night by Raven Thompson. What really sparked such a dominant performance from the Mocs was the team's lockdown defense in the second quarter of the game, with Chattanooga holding ETSU to only two points on 1-for-11 (9.1 percent) shooting. The win added an exclamation point to the season series for the Mocs, with UTC having already swept ETSU in their two matchups against one another during the regular season. The all-time series between Chattanooga and East Tennessee State currently sits at 65-25 in favor of the Mocs.
TOP NOTES
• Guinn has been a pure bucket-getter for the Mocs this year, finishing in double-digits every single game this season. In fact, Guinn has now scored 20+ in each of her last three games for UTC.
• Guinn has won a total of three different Player of the Week honors this season. She is a two-time SoCon POTW and one-time TSWA POTW.
• The Mocs have won their last seven home games. It marks the longest home win streak for the team since 2016-17 (seven straight wins).
• The duo of Guinn & Thompson has scored 550 of the Mocs' 1,106 points this year, with Guinn averaging 18.4 and Thompson averaging 14.9.
• Hannah Kohn (38 3PT made this season) has her sights set on earning a new UTC freshman record for three-pointers made in a season. The current freshman record is 64 set by Lakelyn Bouldin during her freshman year in 2016-17. To hit Bouldin's mark, Kohn would need to average 2.17 3PT made/game.
• Kohn is also gunning to break a 20-year-old program record for season three-point percentage. She currently has a season 3PT percentage of .500, and the program record sits at .450.
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.
FOLLOW CHATTANOOGA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
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