The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team is headed to the Southern Conference championship game for the second year in a row, which gives the Mocs an opportunity to both repeat as tournament champions and complete a sweep of this year's league titles after winning the regular-season crown in dominant fashion.
And in a 66-55 semifinal victory over Mercer on Friday at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina, UTC players took the opportunity to remind Mocs head coach Shawn Poppie that they're on board with the kind of program identity the former Virginia Tech assistant has been working to build since he took over in Chattanooga two years ago.
Top-seeded UTC used a career-high 33 points from senior guard Jada Guinn and a 15-2 run over the final 4:42 to defeat fourth-seeded Mercer and advance to face second-seeded UNC Greensboro, which won 72-62 against third-seeded Wofford in the second semifinal. The title game is set for noon Sunday in Asheville, with the winner securing the SoCon's automatic bid to the 68-team NCAA tournament.
The Mocs (27-4) beat Mercer (15-17) for the third time this season, having won 66-57 on Jan. 10 at McKenzie Arena and 61-52 on Feb. 10 in Macon, Georgia. The margin of victory was bigger this time, but the Bears proved tough to shake, with UTC building a six-point lead multiple times in the first half but heading into intermission down 24-23 after Mercer's Summah Evans hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left in the second quarter.
UTC regained the lead and held it during the middle minutes of the third, but the Bears went to the fourth up 40-39 and took the lead one last time when Deja Williams hit a 3-pointer to make it 53-51 with 5:03 to play.
"It was a hard-fought game," Poppie said. "Mercer, man, they were tough and physical. Throwing punches at us the whole game really, but that second half was going back and forth. They got 16 more shots than we did, but ultimately we were able to outrebound them and we didn't turn it over in the second half. I thought that was a big difference.
"It's a total team effort, and if anyone wants to know what we stand for, hopefully that's what you just watched: a culture of togetherness and competing for each other, and I'm so proud that we get an opportunity to represent this university on Sunday."
(READ MORE: UTC's Shawn Poppie receives national coaching award for first-season success)
Staff file photo by Olivia Ross / UTC freshman Hannah Kohn (2) made a trio of 3-pointers in the second half to help the top-seeded Mocs hold off a strong challenge from fourth-seeded Mercer in a SoCon tournament semifinal Friday in Asheville, N.C. UTC will play No. 2 seed UNC Greensboro in Sunday's title game.The Mocs' regular-season title locked up a spot in one postseason national tournament, the Women's NIT, but a victory Sunday against UNCG would assure them of taking part in March Madness for the second straight season after not having made the NCAA bracket since 2017.
The Spartans (21-10), who are on a four-game winning streak, could prove a tough test. They handed UTC its only regular-season loss in league play — against 13 victories — by winning 68-64 at McKenzie on Feb. 24 to spoil the final scheduled home game for the Mocs.
Friday's matchup with Mercer may have helped UTC — which was coming off Thursday's quarterfinal win against eighth-seeded Western Carolina, a result that was dominant in the final score but unpolished in its execution — get in the right frame of mind for championship Sunday.
UTC's game-sealing surge against the Bears began, fittingly, with a layup by Guinn, who actually scored the Mocs' final 17 points, having also made the layup at the 5:53 mark that stretched their lead to 51-48. Guinn, a graduate transfer who played four seasons at Tennessee Tech, was 10-for-14 from the floor at 13-for-16 at the foul line, and she also grabbed five rebounds to help UTC finish with a 39-36 advantage on the glass.
Sophomore forward Raven Thompson, UTC's other All-SoCon first-team selection, produced a double-double with 13 points and as many rebounds, and the Mocs got nine second-half points from freshman Hannah Kohn, who knocked down a trio of 3-pointers, including two in the final quarter as the Mocs hit their final seven shots to pull away.
(READ MORE: UTC freshman Hannah Kohn one of nation's best 3-point shooters)
"I'm just trying to do what I can for our team," Guinn said. "Obviously, me and Ray (Thompson) have a role of scoring for the team, and I know that's my role, so I'm just trying to do what I can. Obviously, I couldn't do that without my teammates. We have great shooters that spread the floor and make it able for me to drive, so just trusting in the coaches and my teammates and knowing that they have faith in me."
Karsen Murphy also knocked down a 3 and had nine points for the Mocs, who entered Friday at No. 14 nationally in 3-point shooting ( 37.24%) but missed all three of their attempts from long range in the first half, then shot 4-for-8 behind the arc the rest of the way. The Mocs also turned the ball over just twice in the second half after doing so eight times in the first half.
Stacie Jones led Mercer with 14 points, while Williams added 13 with seven rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals, and Mackenzie Johnson scored 10.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.