From left, Aryanna Gilbert, Molly Melton, Keiana Gilbert, Brooke Burns and Arianne Whitaker confer before Melton goes to the foul line during a game against Virginia Tech last December at McKenzie Arena.The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team will have its first official practice of the 2018-19 season this afternoon at the Chattem Practice Facility.
It will be Katie Burrows’ first practice as the team’s head coach after eight seasons as an assistant, first under Wes Moore, who moved on to North Carolina State, and then Jim Foster, who retired after last season.
The Mocs finished 17-13 in Foster’s final season as head coach, falling to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. They graduated three seniors – sisters Aryanna and Keiana Gilbert, and Anna Claire Noblit – while also losing freshman guard Jacobi Lynn, who has transferred to Tennessee Wesleyan, an NAIA program.
The Mocs’ season opener is Nov. 6 at home against Lee University, the Division II program from nearby Cleveland. Today, the Times Free Press looks at five questions entering the season:
1. What will they look like?