Chattanooga's Keiana Gilbert (20) is pressured by Arkansas State's Aundrea Gamble (24) and Brittney Gill (5) in second half action Wednesday at McKenzie Arena. After trailing 41-25 to start the second half, the Mocs won 55-54, with a game winning layup from Gilbert.The evolution of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team has been fluid.
The Mocs will have a prime opportunity to see the progress they've made in all regards on a big stage tonight.
UTC (5-2) hosts top-ranked Connecticut at 6:30 at McKenzie Arena. The Huskies - who have won 10 national championships, including the past three - are 3-0 this season after an 88-46 dismantling of Nebraska on Saturday.
This marks the first time UConn and head coach Geno Auriemma, a Hall of Famer who has led the Huskies since 1985, will play in Chattanooga.
"I'm looking forward to it," Auriemma said after Saturday's win. "I know it will be a different type of game than Wednesday's game against DePaul. There will be two completely different kinds of approaches to the two games. I am looking forward to playing them in their arena. I've never been there before, and I am sure they will have a great crowd."
The Huskies are coming to Chattanooga in large part due to Auriemma's relationship with UTC head coach Jim Foster. The Mocs' Hall of Fame coach gave the UConn leader his first coaching job at St. Joseph's back in 1978, where he spent two seasons under Foster.
The two remain very close, enjoying the occasional glass of wine together when time allows.
"It's hard to play against someone like that," Foster said. "We're good friends and we've shared a lot of things from when our families were young and growing up. We've spent a lot of time together over the holidays and such.
"I'll be happy to see him."
Since taking over at UConn, Auriemma has been named national coach of the year six times. He was at the helm for each of the Huskies' national titles, with the first coming in 1995. In the past 15 seasons, UConn has won it all nine times.
The Mocs enter tonight's game in a transition of sorts. Guard Chelsey Shumpert injured her knee against Indiana on Nov. 17 and is out for the season, which leaves the team without a three-year starter and one of its point guards.
Senior Alicia Payne still holds the role as the primary ball-handler, while junior Queen Alford and sophomore Keiana Gilbert have had to adjust their roles some within the offense.
The team had a challenging past week, falling 59-57 at No. 4 Tennessee on Monday before claiming solid home wins over Arkansas State and UT-Martin - with each of those teams expected to compete for its conference championship.
Now the Mocs face another big test.
"We're trying to find ourselves," junior forward Jasmine Joyner said recently. "Last year you could tell we were more of a 3-point shooting team, but having lost players like Ka'Vonne (Towns) and Destiny (Bramblett), and with Chelsey not on the floor, we're trying to figure out what kind of team we are.
"That's when we have to work together and depend on our defense."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at @genehenleytfp.