Shelbie Davenport never had traveled into Chattanooga before her visit to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus over the weekend.
But when she did, it immediately felt like home, and that's where she plans to be the next four years.
Davenport, a 6-foot guard who prepped at Riverdale in Murfreesboro, spent a season on the women's basketball team at Clemson before deciding to transfer. She chose UTC over the weekend and will have three seasons remaining when the 2016-17 school year begins.
"When I went, I loved how pretty the city was and how homey it was," Davenport said Monday. "When I saw the area, it felt like home, and I knew that's where I needed to be."
She was second for Clemson in scoring in 2014-15, averaging 8.6 points per game while starting 20 of the 29 games in which she played. She was second also in 3-pointers made (43) and charges taken (18) and scored 19 points against Boston College.
"It was hard leaving Clemson, because there's so much competition in the ACC," she said. "I want my family to be a part of what I do, and with them being 100 miles away, they can be there to support me.
"I like what coach Jim Foster is doing, and I want to be a part of it. When I talked to him, I never imagined going anywhere else."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.