It's taken a little time and a lot of work, but University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball coach Katie Burrows finally has a team entering the 2020-21 season that she feels good about.
One season saw roster turnover due to graduation as well as transfers, with four players leaving the Moc women's program with eligibility remaining. The result was three fewer wins from year one to year two, but a two-game improvement in Southern Conference play and a share of the regular-season championship in her second season, one that included a dreadful 1-13 start against a schedule full of games against teams ranked in the top 100 of the Women's Ratings Percentage Index.
Now at year three, Burrows should have the combination of talent and experience that could lead the program back to the top of the league, where it proudly sat for five consecutive postseasons from 2012-16. That was the thought of the SoCon media, which picked UTC to claim its 23rd regular-season title recently.
After losing their first two games due to COVID-19 concerns, the Mocs finally get their season started on Sunday with a home game against Alabama-Birmingham.
Experience? The Mocs have it in senior Bria Dial, an all-Southern Conference selection last season. They have it in juniors Eboni Williams and Abbey Cornelius, who have been productive in their first two seasons in the program. They even have it in the sophomore class in point guard Dena Jarrells, who averaged 16 minutes a game off the bench last season. Also, they went through the experience of losing early last season, which turned into winning as the team started to mesh.
This team should come together much quicker. As the team prepares to tip off this weekend here are some key questions whose answers will dictate the season.
What is this team's strength?
Well, they like each other for one. But the coaching staff has been able to recruit the type of talent and versatility into the program that will ensure nobody should feel completely comfortable about their current position. There's definitely depth on the interior, with Cornelius and fellow juniors Ruona Uwusiaba and Kallie Searcy, and there's some depth at guard with the addition of freshman Sigrun Olafsdottir and sophomores Morgan Hill and Brooke Hampel, each of whom sat last season out - Hill due to injury and Hampel due to transferring from Missouri-Kansas City. Players like Dial and Williams can settle into their roles, but now with a more athletic roster around them, won't have to overextend and try to do too much.
Biggest question surrounding the team?
We've gotten this far without mentioning graduated guard Lakelyn Bouldin, who scored 1,446 points and made 225 3-pointers in her career, stats that rank eighth and third in UTC history, respectively. Even more impressively was that she did so at a 37% clip, something that is going to have to be replaced this season as no returning Moc shot 30% from 3 a year ago. It's not that the team will need someone who can frequently beat teams from deep, but they will need a couple of options to be respectable to keep defenses honest. Dial came on as a junior, knocking down 48 3s which actually led the team. Can she continue to be an option? Maybe freshman Anna Walker can provide another option there.
But a team that shot 29% from 3 a year ago will need somebody to step up in some fashion and make some shots.
What about the newcomers?
There are certainly some nice new pieces to the roster, each with different levels of experience. Hampel started 22 games in her lone season at UMKC and nearly averaged 10 points per game. She brings a ton of speed to the roster, and what Burrows believes is an improved shot after sitting last season out. If she can keep defenses honest, she'll be able to use her speed to get to the basket as well as create for others. Olafsdottir has received some rave reviews, while Walker will be able to provide another shooting option from the perimeter. Junior-college transfer Amaria Pugh averaged over 19 points and six rebounds a game at Dyersburg State last season and brings yet another athletic option to the roster.
Expectations?
Three seasons without a SoCon tournament title - after five straight such championships - could make anyone anxious. But the Mocs will be good. Developing a second ball handler behind Jarrells will be important - maybe it's Olafsdottir - but there are an endless number of players that will allow the Mocs to play at a number of different speeds. Need size? Cornelius, Uwusiaba and Searcy give the team three options inside. Need speed? Try to catch Hampel. Shooting may be the biggest question mark, but as Dial showed last season at Wofford, it's not how many you make but when you make them. If that holds true, this team will be playing in the SoCon championship game.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.