UTC’s Keiana Gilbert makes her way past Connecticut’s Moriah Jefferson Monday, November 30, 2015 at McKenzie Arena.With eight games in 18 days to start the season, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team didn’t have much practice time to get players accustomed to new roles after junior guard Chelsey Shumpert suffered a season-ending knee injury against Indiana in the third game.
But since a lopsided loss to top-ranked Connecticut on Nov. 30, UTC players and coaches have been able to spend the better part of two weeks addressing any concerns.
That’s fortunate for the Mocs (5-3), because another busy stretch awaits.
It starts today in Tampa, Fla., against the University of South Florida (5-2), which is 20th in the USA Today coaches poll and 21st in The Associated Press poll. Remaining this week for the Mocs are Wednesday’s home game against Belmont and two games as part of a weekend classic at UNC Wilmington.
UTC coach Jim Foster said there was “nothing we can do about” the scheduling challenges.
“With only 14 games in conference, you do a lot of things you wouldn’t want to but have to,” he said.
Queen Alford, a redshirt junior, moved into the lineup with Shumpert’s exit, and sophomore Keiana Gilbert shifted into more of a playmaker and ball-handler role alongside senior Alicia Payne.
“It wasn’t a change I would have been comfortable with at the beginning of the season,” Gilbert said, “but since we’ve had a chance to practice, I’m more comfortable now because Chelsey’s out and Red (Payne) can’t handle the ball all game long.
“I’ve just embraced it and want to help the team wherever I can.”
Gilbert said the Mocs have been working to cut down on turnovers – they average 17.4 per game – and improve their transition defense, which did not look good in the loss to UConn.
South Florida ended the Mocs’ streak of home victories at 40 games last season, winning 57-56 at McKenzie Arena on Nov. 16, 2014. Courtney Williams, who led the Bulls with 15 points that day, has started this season on fire, with her average of 26.9 points per game second nationally.
Forward Alisia Jenkins averages 14.9 points and 14.7 rebounds for a team that averages 79.1 points and scored 101 in a win against Penn State last Sunday.
Foster said Williams’ game – less than 20 percent of her points have come from 3-point range – is one San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich “would love.” Popovich has expressed his displeasure with the 3-point shot on multiple occasions, including this past week.
“She has an old-fashioned game,” Foster said. “She likes to score from the mid-range, and that’s part of the game that is disappearing as we speak. It’s neat to see a player that’s good at it.
“We have to switch a lot, realize who we’re guarding and how we want to guard them, and we’ll start to figure that out.”