Being the underdog is a different role for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team this season, one that junior point guard Tenisha Townsend doesn’t want.
Winners of 11 consecutive Southern Conference regular-season championships, the Lady Mocs were picked to finish third in the league by the SoCon coaches and media, the conference announced Tuesday.
“It kind of does bother us,” said Townsend, the only player on the roster to have played two full seasons for UTC. “We’re the underdogs now – we don’t have the same people as last year – but that means we have something to prove. We’re going to get after it and it only motivates us.”
The Lady Mocs, who open their season Friday against East Tennessee State, return two starters (Townsend and sophomore guard Kayla Christopher) and two of their top seven scorers from last season’s squad that won the SoCon regular-season and tournament titles.
Coach Wes Moore said following Tuesday’s practice that being picked third doesn’t feel right, “but I think if you look at it logically that’s the way it should be.”