Jim Foster and Aryanna Gilbert have been in Mercer’s position.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball coach and fifth-year UTC senior were part of the most recent Mocs team in the Top 25. UTC entered and stayed around the national rankings during the 2014-15 season, then started the following season in both polls.
This season it’s Mercer, another Southern Conference program, that has inched its way into the USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 25 this week on the strength of a 22-game winning streak. The Bears (25-2, 12-0) host UTC (16-10, 7-5) at 7 tonight at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Ga.
UTC womenճ basketball coach Jim Foster watches from the sideline during the Lady Mocs home basketball game against Furman University at McKenzie Arena on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Mercer won the programs’ first meeting this season 71-50 on Jan. 27, giving UTC its worst SoCon loss since the Bears beat the Mocs by 23 points on Jan. 21, 2016, in Macon. The Mocs finish the regular season Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. game at Samford, with the conference tournament March 1-4 in Asheville, N.C.
“They’re a good team, and they’re playing well right now,” Gilbert said of the Bears before Tuesday’s practice. “The last time we played them left a bitter taste in my mouth, so we’re focused on getting stops and scoring more this game.”