The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team hasn’t played since Dec. 21, when the Mocs ended a five-game losing streak with a 93-34 home win against Salem University, an NCAA Division II program from West Virginia.
Some 2 1/2 weeks since that victory at McKenzie Arena, the stakes will be higher for the Mocs (5-8) as they return to action after the long layoff around the holidays.
UTC first-year head coach Deandra Schirmer’s group opens Southern Conference play with back-to-back games in North Carolina, facing Western Carolina on Thursday night and UNC Greensboro on Saturday afternoon. The Mocs won’t play their SoCon home opener until Thursday, Jan. 16, when the two-time reigning league tournament champions welcome Samford at 6 p.m.
The Mocs won back-to-back games just once during nonconference play over the past two months, beating King University 75-34 on Nov. 20 and five days later showing their potential in a 66-60 win against Lipscomb University, which entered Wednesday with a 9-4 record this season. That win against Lipscomb is also just one of two this season for the program against a Division I opponent (the other was 75-36 on Nov. 11 at North Carolina Central, which is currently 2-14), with King, Salem and Shorter University (which lost 66-49 on Nov. 4 in the Mocs’ season opener) all in the D-II ranks.
While it’s natural to wonder if the Mocs could be rusty after their extended break, one of Schirmer’s postgame comments after their most recent game seemed to indicate she was looking forward to the chance to regroup.
“We have not had it easy, and when you’re going through tough times, you also need mental breaks,” Schirmer said. “We’re going to have a tough road trip right from the start (of SoCon play), and we’re going to see where we’re at and where we need to get to.”
She’s not wrong about that: Western Carolina is 10-5 entering SoCon play, with first-year coach Jonathan Tsipis having already guided the Catamounts to their most wins in a season since the 2014-15 team finished 11-19. Meanwhile, UNCG is off to a 9-5 start; the Spartans will host East Tennessee State on Thursday before the visit from UTC.
Staff photo by Abby White / UTC women’s basketball coach Deandra Schirmer talks to her team between quarters during a home win against West Virginia’s Salem University on Dec. 21 at McKenzie Arena. The Mocs will play for the first time since then as they open their SoCon schedule with road games against Western Carolina on Thursday and UNC Greensboro on Saturday.Here are three observations on the Mocs as they finally return to the court.
1. Injury-riddled season: Statistically and on the scoreboard, it’s been a rough offensive campaign so far, largely in part due to injuries.
Some of those happened before the Mocs even tipped off their schedule (preseason All-SoCon wing Kalifa Ford, senior point guard Taylor Searcey, senior guard Jade Moore), with others coming during the season (freshman wing Izzy McPherson was lost for the season just six games in). Only four Mocs have played in every game, led by fifth-year senior guard Sigrun Olafsdottir, whose average of 37.2 minutes per game leads the SoCon and ranks sixth nationally.
The injuries have cost Schirmer’s team players who were expected to provide some of the firepower that’s been missing for the Mocs, who are in the bottom half of most offensive categories in the SoCon. The continuity has been lacking, too, with Moore just returning after missing the first 11 games, and the depth has obviously taken a major hit.
2. Defense leading the way: The silver lining is that the Mocs have been solid all season on the other end of the court.
UTC ranks third in the SoCon in scoring defense (56.8 points allowed per game) and third in field-goal percentage defense (37.5%) and 3-point percentage defense (27.1%), and only two opponents — Penn and Troy — have topped 70 points against the Mocs.
Schirmer, hired by UTC after a highly successful five-year run at D-II member Valdosta State, came in with a reputation of having good defensive teams, and her first one has fit the bill so far.
3. Youth movement: The early injuries allowed for the emergence of some of the younger players on UTC’s roster, highlighted by forward Gianna Corbitt, whose numbers so far could make her a contender to be the SoCon’s freshman of the year.
In the past five games, the 6-foot-1 forward averaged 13.4 points and 9.0 rebounds, and among the conference’s freshmen, she currently ranks first in scoring (9.8 points per game), steals (1.8) and blocks (0.8) while ranking second in rebounds (6.6).
UTC sophomore Caia Elisaldez has built on her freshman season by leading the team in scoring (10.3) and assists (4.4), while freshman Ava Card has averaged 10.3 points and shot 50% from the field in her past three games.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.