ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Like most returning members of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team, Sigrun Olafsdottir knew her role was probably going to change after Shawn Poppie took over as coach last April.
A point guard during her first two seasons in the program, the Iceland native was moved over to the wing with Addie Porter taking over the full-time duties at point guard. Olafsdottir’s new role for UTC was going to be that of a “3-and-D” player — one asked to knock down long-range shots when necessary, but with a heavy focus on defense by guarding the opposing team’s best player.
With a successful regular season and two tournament victories behind the Mocs, Olafsdottir is glad she made the change.
Olafsdottir’s full skill set was on full display Friday in the Mocs’ thorough 69-40 defeat of East Tennessee State University in the Southern Conference semifinals, which catapulted the program to its first championship game since 2017. She finished with nine points, three rebounds, a pair of steals and an assist before fouling out after 31 minutes, but by that point she had spearheaded a defensive performance that held the Buccaneers (23-9) to 28% shooting from the field.
Raven Thompson had a huge game for UTC (19-12) with 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Yazz Wazeerud-Din chipped in 20 points and was 3-for-4 from 3-point range, and Abbey Cornelius grabbed 12 rebounds and matched Thompson for the game high in assists.