UTC's KaVonne Towns plays in the game against Villanova at McKenzie Arena.Final exams may be over for the fall semester at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, but the women's basketball team has to face another tough test tonight.
The Mocs (6-3) are back home after three away games for a 6 p.m. visit from seventh-ranked Stanford at McKenzie Arena. It's UTC's third game this season against a team ranked in the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25, and coach Jim Foster's team split the first two, falling 88-53 at then No. 3 Notre Dame on Nov. 21 but upsetting then No. 4 Tennessee 67-63 at home on Nov. 26.
The Mocs say they are looking forward to tonight's game against another team that played in last season's Women's Final Four.
"We're pretty confident," senior Ka'Vonne Towns said Tuesday. "We're just going to go out and try to play hard and keep the home streak going now that we're back.
"Each team is different, and since this team is top 10, we already know that they're going to come out and be aggressive. So we're going to try and match that and be just as aggressive as they are."
Stanford (6-2) also has played a tough early-season schedule and has an upset win on its resume with an 88-86 overtime win over then No. 1 Connecticut, but coach Tara VanDerveer's team also has losses to No. 3 Texas and No. 6 North Carolina.
"When you've played three of your games against top-five teams it's tough, and we have a very young team," VanDerveer said Tuesday afternoon before her team practiced at McKenzie Arena. "I'm really pleased with how we're doing so far. I know we're going to have to work very hard and this is a very challenging trip for us, but we're excited to be here and looking forward to playing."
The Cardinal feature prolific guards with Amber Orrange and Lili Thompson both averaging double figures in scoring and Karlie Samuelson scoring 9.1 points per game.
"Offensively, they're very, very good," Foster said. "Very talented and can really shoot the ball. They have a couple of very talented guards, and defensively they're always sound fundamentally."
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer talks to her team during practice Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, at the McKenzie Arena on the UTC campus in Chattanooga, Tenn. Stanford plays the Lady Mocs on Wednesday night at UTC. Against multiple good-shooting guards, Foster said it will be important for the Mocs to control the tempo of the game and make shots when they are open.
"Stanford scores a lot of points, and you have to figure out a way to not let them score as many points," he said. "If you play fast and go up and down, you'd better be making shots that night. You've got to run with intelligence."
The Mocs have been making some adjustments that may work to their benefit against Stanford. Sophomore Aryanna Gilbert is out indefinitely after being injured in practice before the Mocs' 65-54 win at UT-Martin on Saturday, resulting in more guards in the starting lineup in Chelsey Shumpert, Alicia Payne and Towns.
Shumpert and Towns combined for nine 3-pointers against UT-Martin, a different look after the duo had made just 20 3s in UTC's first eight games.
"We've been working on our outside shooting a lot in practice," Shumpert said. "Coach Foster has a certain drill that we do now to get our shooting better and our repetition better. So we just step up to the 3-point line and knock it down."
Another positive development has been Payne playing at the off-guard spot, which allows the junior to look to shoot more than she has through much of her college career.
"I do feel more comfortable," she said. "Coach says that he thinks I'm a better player off the ball, and it allows me to slow down and let the game come to me and not force shots. When I'm open, I just feel more comfortable shooting it."
After slashing to the basket with Aryanna and Keiana Gilbert and looking for points in the paint with Jasmine Joyner for the early part of the season, Foster said the loss of the older Gilbert has forced the team to change its style of play to a more guard-focused lineup.
"I thought our outside shooting in the past two games was significant," he said. "And it was our defending and you just take what the other team is giving you. We probably took more (outside shots) because Aryanna wasn't out there Saturday ... so the players made a nice adjustment."
After the Mocs' upset of Tennessee, VanDerveer's team knows not to take UTC lightly, and Foster's and VanDerveer's longtime friendship produces a lot of mutal respect between the two programs.
"I've known Jim for a long time, and he and I are friends," VanDerveer said. "He's very excited about the job (at UTC) and living here. I know he does a great job. Obviously, I've seen their film, and they're a fun team to watch -- unless you're playing them. I expect it to be a great game."
With Tennessee and Stanford visiting McKenzie Arena this season and UConn scheduled to come to Chattanooga next season, Foster is bringing lots of high-quality basketball to the Scenic City, a move he hopes will pay benefits for his program and the city as a whole in coming years.
"I think it's great that this is taking place," Foster said. "I think we're going to have a lot of people find out what a great little city Chattanooga is. We're going to become more of a destination in the women's basketball world, and we already are."
Contact Jim Tanner at jtanner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6478. Follow him at twitter.com/JFTanner.