Keiana Gilbert and the rest of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team have prepared for their second chance to face Samford.
That opportunity comes tonight.
UTC’s Mocs have a big Southern Conference contest tonight against the Bulldogs at 6:30 at McKenzie Arena. Although UTC (18-7, 9-2) technically is in second place in the league standings, Samford (16-9, 8-2) holds the tiebreaker edge by virtue of its 48-43 win over the Mocs in Birmingham on Jan. 23.
UTC coach Jim Foster was frustrated by the Mocs’ frequency of fouling in that first meeting, something he attributed to bad positioning. But he has been pleased by how the team has banded together since that game, having won five straight and playing some stifling defense in the process.
“Some teams grow at different rates,” he said. “Some start fast and hold on, but this team has just figured a lot of stuff out, and as players feel comfortable with what they’ve figured out, it’s just made us better at both ends of the floor.”
One person Foster has expected more from is the 5-foot-11 Gilbert, whose shooting accuracy has dropped from 54 percent her freshman year to 46 percent this season as the Hall of Fame coach has asked her to be more aggressive. As a result, her shots per game have jumped from 8.5 last year to 11 this season, while her points have shot up nearly two points per game.
This isn’t the first time a coach has asked her to shoot more. Her high school coach did the same thing.
“I’m not used to taking as many shots as I’m told to (take), but if that’s what it takes for us to be a better team, I’ll do it,” she said.
The Mocs’ defense has improved in recent games, as have their turnover totals, as they seem to have adjusted to how Foster wants to play. As players such as Gilbert, Queen Alford and Jasmine Joyner have become more comfortable in what they are being asked to do, the improvements have been noticeable, and they’ll be on display as they take the floor tonight against the Bulldogs.
“The first game wasn’t what we expected to happen, but it should be exciting because we know we’ve got better,” Gilbert said. “We’re looking forward to playing tomorrow night.”
Joyner three-peats
The league office announced Tuesday that Joyner was the SoCon player of the week for the third time in a row, after she averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots a game in road wins at UNC Greensboro and Western Carolina.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.