UTC (10-17, 9-4 SoCon) vs. ETSU (9-19, 4-9)
2 p.m. Saturday at McKenzie Arena
Video & radio: ESPN3 & 97.7 FM/1070 AM
Storyline: The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball program is going for its 22nd Southern Conference regular-season championship, and if the Mocs pull off the feat it guarantees them at least the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament that starts Thursday in Asheville, North Carolina. It’s somehow fitting East Tennessee State is the opponent in this regular-season finale because the Mocs’ biggest win of 2019-20, at least so far, might have been the three-overtime thriller on Feb. 1 in Johnson City, where UTC won 91-82. UTC did most of its damage that day on the boards, finishing with a 55-36 edge in rebounds, led by 16 from Eboni Williams (who also scored 25 points) and 13 from Abbey Cornelius. The Mocs are coming off an important 64-58 home win over Samford last Saturday in which all five UTC starters scored in double figures, led by Lakelyn Bouldin’s 18 points. Coach Katie Burrows, however, would like to see more production from a bench that did not score a point against the Bulldogs.
What’s at stake? Going into the final day of the regular season, the SoCon women’s basketball standings are topped by UNC Greensboro (20-8, 9-4), Samford (14-14, 9-4) and UTC. The Mocs would need to win and have Samford fall to Western Carolina (5-23, 2-11) in order to earn the SoCon tournament’s No. 1 seed. However, simply beating the Buccaneers and locking up a top-two seed would guarantee UTC at least a spot in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. After a 1-13 start, the Mocs already have made one of the top in-season turnarounds in the country. Samford holds the tiebreaker over UTC by virtue of a regular-season sweep of UNCG. UTC split with UNCG, which closes with Mercer (7-21, 4-9), though the Mocs hold the tiebreaker with UNCG by owning a win over Samford.