Defense has been a strength for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team throughout this season, Deandra Schirmer’s first as head coach of the two-time reigning Southern Conference champions.
Still, she wanted the Mocs to develop offensively, a process that was stunted by injuries — including some of the season-ending variety — to key players in the preseason and early in the schedule.
Now, with just three weeks remaining in the regular season, it appears Schirmer’s squad is starting to round into shape.
The Mocs shot 58% from the field and had a trio of double-digit scorers while building as much as a 23-point lead Saturday afternoon before settling into a 74-59 win over Western Carolina at McKenzie Arena.
UTC, which never trailed while bouncing back less than 48 hours after a 58-50 loss to league-leading UNC Greensboro on the same court, improved to 11-11 overall and 6-3 in the SoCon while sweeping the regular-season series with the Catamounts (11-13, 1-8). The Mocs opened their SoCon schedule with a 67-56 road win against Western Carolina on Jan. 9.