The key to success for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team at the Southern Conference tournament is, based on statistics, a simple one.
Shoot the ball with more accuracy.
The Mocs (13-16) begin their quest for a 19th SoCon tournament title with a first-round game against UNC Greensboro (11-18) at 5:45 p.m. Thursday at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina, knowing full well their recent shooting woes are cause for concern. UTC, which went 8-6 in SoCon games this season to earn the tournament's No. 3 seed, went 2-5 in its past seven contests, shooting worse than 40 percent in the losses and above that mark in both wins.
"If we don't hit shots, we're going to be in trouble," Mocs coach Katie Burrows said prior to practice Tuesday. "I told them the other day that our defense is doing such a good job, but we have very little margin for error if we're not hitting shots.
"Somehow, we've got to do something in these next few days to pick that up."
The Mocs started 6-1 in league play and scored more than 70 points in each of the wins, including a season-high 89 against Wofford on Jan. 17 at McKenzie Arena. They have not topped 65 points since that strong stretch to start, and in three of their five losses last month they failed to reach 55 points.
"We have to find a way to score more and finish out games," said junior Lakelyn Bouldin, whose 12.7 points per game this season make her the only Moc whose scoring average is in double figures. "Everything else is there.
"We lost some games we should have won. It stinks, but we were right there in most games. We know going in that on any given night we can beat anybody. It's just putting four good quarters together."
Included in UTC's late-season swoon was a 53-49 loss at UNCG a week ago in which the Mocs shot 33.3 percent. And it was the Spartans who put them out of last year's SoCon tournament in a double-overtime opening-round matchup.
Just like last season, UNCG is the No. 6 seed again.
"We are really looking forward to Thursday," said Bouldin, who was named to the All-SoCon second team this week. "We're excited with who we drew in the tournament. We're ready to get some revenge. ... This is what we've been working toward the whole season, winning the SoCon and getting to the NCAA tournament."
Burrows, a former UTC player and longtime assistant in her first season as head coach, hopes her team has shaken off the rough end to the regular season. The Mocs did finish their schedule with a 15-point win this past Saturday at Western Carolina to clinch their top-three seed.
With eight underclassmen in UTC's regular rotation, Burrows is still searching for combinations that will click on the court.
"I'm really excited to have a clean slate and also to go into the tournament with some momentum," she said. "We played well Saturday with a lot of different groups, people we haven't had on the floor together. We've got a lot of versatility in our players, so we can move them around depending on matchups."
One of those underclassmen, forward Eboni Williams, was named SoCon freshman of the year by coaches this week. She's not quite sure what to expect in her first collegiate postseason tournament, but she and the rest of the young Mocs do have a major goal in mind.
"Our seniors came in here as freshmen and became Southern Conference champions," Williams said, "and we want to send them out as Southern Conference champions."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.