UTC women extend streak with defense, Izzy McPherson’s hot shooting

Staff file photo / UTC women's basketball coach Deandra Schirmer, left, said the hot-shooting performance by redshirt freshman Izzy McPherson (14) in Sunday's home win against Samford was another example of the Mocs being able to count on multiple players to contribute in a lead role. Staff file photo / UTC women's basketball coach Deandra Schirmer, left, said the hot-shooting performance by redshirt freshman Izzy McPherson (14) in Sunday's home win against Samford was another example of the Mocs being able to count on multiple players to contribute in a lead role.

By Gene Henley February 1, 2026 4 min read

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team earned its 11th straight victory Sunday, using a dominating defensive performance in the second half to defeat Samford 61-40 in a Southern Conference matchup at McKenzie Arena.

Now 15-5 overall this season and 7-0 at the midpoint of SoCon play, the Mocs start the second half of their league schedule with a road trip to South Carolina to face the next two teams behind them in the standings. They visit Furman (14-8, 6-1) in Greenville at 7 p.m. Thursday, and two days later in Spartanburg, it’s a 1 p.m. tipoff at Wofford (11-10, 5-2), which will host fourth-place East Tennessee State University (10-11, 3-3) on Thursday.

The Mocs won the first meetings of the season with Furman and Wofford — both in Chattanooga — by a combined 36 points.

UTC coach Deandra Schirmer was frustrated with her team’s defensive effort in Friday night’s 72-59 home win over Mercer, so she challenged the Mocs. They responded by limiting the Bulldogs, who entered the game averaging 8.7 made 3-pointers per game, to 4-for-23 shooting from deep.