CULLOWHEE, N.C. --- Southern Conference basketball is finally upon us this week, as Chattanooga women's basketball hits the road for a pair of conferences clashes against the likes of Western Carolina and UNCG.
The Mocs will open their 2025 calendar year on Thursday, January 9, with UTC taking on the Catamounts at 6 p.m. ET in Cullowhee for what will be the 100th all-time meeting between Chattanooga and Western Carolina. UTC will then close out its road trip on Saturday, January 11, with a rematch of last season's SoCon Tournament title game as the Mocs battle it out against UNC Greensboro at 2 p.m. ET.
This week's games mark the first group of what will eventually be UTC's 14-game Southern Conference slate. Both games will be available to stream on ESPN+ and can also be listened to via WFLI 104.3 FM or with The Varsity app. Live stats will also be provided by both host sites and those links can be found on the Chattanooga women's basketball schedule page on GoMocs.com.
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Opponent: Western Carolina
Date: Thursday, January 9, 2025
Time: 6:00 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.
Opponent: UNCG
Date: Saturday, January 11, 2025
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 (5-8, 0-0 SoCon)
Chattanooga enters into the conference season holding a record of 5-8, which puts the Mocs in sixth place in the SoCon overall. Prior to the team's lengthy holiday break, the Mocs were able to snap what was a five-game losing streak ahead of the team's SoCon opener by steamrolling Salem University, 93-34. The underclassmen duo of Caia Elisaldez and Gianna Corbitt have been the pair to watch for UTC, with Elisaldez leading the team in scoring (10.3 points/game) and assists (4.4 assists/game) while Corbitt has now logged two double-doubles in her last three games for the Mocs. Karsen Murphy and Sigrun Olafsdottir have also been reliable scoring options for Chattanooga, as Murphy is averaging 9.5 points/game with Olafsdottir adding 7.9 points/game this year.
ABOUT WESTERN CAROLINA (10-5, 0-0 SoCon)
After some tough sledding last season, the Catamounts have put together a strong start to their 2024-25 under first-year head coach Jonathan Tsipis with WCU entering its SoCon opener with a 10-5 record that has the Catamounts in first place in the league. Western Carolina has been a very three-point centric team so far this season, with the Catamounts averaging 7.5 made three-pointers/game while shooting 35.1 percent from behind the arc on the year. The Catamounts have been able to rely on the trio of AC Carter, Tyja Beans and Jada Burton to carry the load to open the year. Carter, a grad transfer from Georgia Tech, is currently the conference leader in scoring by averaging 14.3 points/game. Beans, a SoCon All-Freshman Team honoree last year, is nearly averaging a double-double for the Catamounts by logging 12.9 points/game and 8.8 rebounds/game. Finally Burton, who has averaged 9.3 points/game in 2024-25, currently leads the Southern Conference in assists this year by averaging 5.3 per game.
ABOUT UNC GREENSBORO (9-5, 0-0 SoCon)
A year removed from finishing as the Southern Conference's runners-up, UNC Greensboro has their sights set on championship gold in 2024-25 with the Spartans currently sitting in second place in the SoCon standings following a 9-5 start to the year. Despite having five non-conference losses, the Spartans saw three of those results come against Power 4 opponents including single-digit losses to Georgia and Wake Forest. UNCG's go-to star has been senior guard Jayde Gamble, who has cemented herself into the SoCon Player of the Year conversation after starting the year with a 13.3 points/game scoring average paired with 46 assists and 41 assist over the course of non-conference play. Jaila Lee, who transferred to Greensboro ahead of the 2024-25 season from UNC Asheville, has also been a consistent scorer for the Spartans as Lee has been averaging 11.1 points/game so far this season.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
The last time UTC met each of these teams came during the 2024 Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville last season. The Mocs opened their title-winning run in the SoCon Quarterfinals, defeating WCU 64-43 to earn a spot in the semifinals against Mercer. After defeating the Bears, the Mocs then squared off against UNCG, where they would take down the Spartans 69-60 in the championship game to clinch UTC's 20th SoCon Tournament title all-time. Overall, Chattanooga is 86-13 all-time against Western Carolina while holding a record of 51-14 all-time versus UNCG.
TOP NOTES
• Gianna Corbitt currently leads all SoCon freshmen in scoring (9.8 points/game), steals (1.8 steals/ game) and blocks (0.8 blocks/game) while ranking second amongst SoCon freshmen in rebounding (6.6 rebounds/game) this season.
• With a 4.4 assists/game average and having already recorded a team-leading 53 assists this year, Caia Elisaldez is on pace to finish the 2024-25 regular season with 114 total assists. If Elisaldez does in fact reach that total, she would be the first Moc to finish with 100+ assists in a season since Alicia Payne finished with 123 assists during the 2015-16 season.
• Sigrun Olafsdottir is closing in on history as she needs to appear in three more games to tie the program record for most career games played. She is at 133 and the record is 136, held by Abbey Cornelius (2018-23). Olafsdottir already holds the program record for most career starts (130).
• UTC has put out a total of six different starting lineups over the course of the 2024-25 season so far. This marks the largest variety of starting fives in a season for the team since finishing the 2021-22 campaign with nine different starting fives.
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