The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has come close in its last two trips to the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. The Lady Mocs have been in position to pull off an upset but haven’t been able to produce the second NCAA win in school history.
Tonight in Tempe, Ariz., at Arizona State’s Wells Fargo Arena, the 13th-seeded Lady Mocs (24-8) will get another shot when they face fourth-seeded Oklahoma State (23-10), which will be without its leading scorer and offensive catalyst.
“It would be great to get a win since we’ve only had one win in history,” UTC senior Jenaya Wade-Fray said. “We’ve been right there, had close games, but we haven’t been able to get over the hump — hopefully we can do that this year.”
This is UTC’s 10th trip to the NCAA tournament — the eighth since Wes Moore became coach — and the Lady Mocs have a 1-9 record. The lone win came in 2004, when UTC was a 10 seed and upset 7 seed Rutgers, 74-69, in McKenzie Arena.
In 2007, the Lady Mocs were a 12 seed and put a scare into fifth-seeded Baylor, the defending national champions. The Bears jumped to a 14-point lead in the first half before UTC rallied and eventually cut the lead to one, 45-44, with 10:08 remaining. The Lady Mocs eventually lost 68-55.
The following season, UTC went into the tournament with the nation’s longest winning streak, 24 games. The Lady Mocs, again a 12 seed, faced a fifth-seeded Kansas State squad that was without its leading scorer, Kimberly Dietz, who was out with an injury.
The Lady Mocs led 37-31 early in the second half and trailed 60-59 with 1:21 remaining but didn’t score again, losing 69-59.
“I do remember it was back and forth until like the last couple of minutes, and then we couldn’t hit that much,” said UTC senior Shanara Hollinquest, a two-time Southern Conference player of the year. “I think we’re finishing games stronger this year, so I think we’ll be able to finish this game better.”
Just like the Kansas State game, UTC will face a Big 12 Conference opponent that’s without its best player. Point guard Andrea Riley, a three-time first-team All-Big 12 selection, is suspended, so the Cowgirls, ranked No. 20 in the final regular-season AP poll, will have to find a way to make up for her conference-leading 26.6 points and 6.5 assists per game.
“I imagine Chattanooga feels like they won the lottery playing us without Riley,” Cowgirls coach Kurt Budke said. “It’s going to be a struggle, there’s just no question about that. It’s going to be a struggle and we’re going to have to find points from many different people.”
Ever since UTC began its run of 11 straight SoCon regular-season championships, plus eight of the last 10 SoCon tournament titles, the Lady Mocs have been the team to beat in most of their games. With the possible exception of holiday tournament games against Villanova and Richmond, UTC likely has been regarded as the favorite to win every game this season since playing at Kentucky on Nov. 27.
It’s a much different story in the NCAA tournament, however, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Moore said.
“It’s always going to be David versus Goliath, but that makes it fun,” Moore said. “During the season a lot of times we’re the chased, so it’s kind of nice to have a change in roles and be the hunter instead of the hunted.”
The Lady Mocs are going hunting tonight, and with Riley out of the Oklahoma State lineup, this might be their best chance since 2004 to reach the second round.