UTC’s Sydney Vanlandingham looks for an open teammate during the Mocs’ 51-45 win against Samford this past Saturday at McKenzie Arena. The fifth-year senior is among the team’s role players who have come through when needed this season.Everybody has a role on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team.
Some are larger than others, but each player is expected to be ready to contribute when needed. With Jim Foster coaching more by feel than to a set rotation, sometimes a player may go a game or two without hearing her number called.
Yet time and time again, the Mocs have answered.
Most recently it was sophomore Nakeia Burks, who played the final 13 minutes of UTC’s 51-45 win over Samford on Saturday.
The 5-foot-10 guard finished with only one point, but she helped contain Bulldogs point guard Brittany Stevens. Burks’ length in full-court pressure slowed down what was already a methodical Samford offense, and the Mocs outscored the Bulldogs 25-12 over the final 13:22.