UTC (9-17, 8-4 SoCon) vs. SAMFORD (13-13, 8-3)
2 p.m. Saturday at McKenzie Arena
Video & radio: ESPN3 & 97.7 FM/1070 AM
Storyline: The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women played one of their worst games of the season in last month's 60-46 loss at Samford. UTC shot only 36% for the game (4-of-15 on 3-pointers), but the overall floor game is what doomed the Mocs, who had four assists to 24 turnovers. They have cleaned things up in recent games, including Thursday's 58-52 home win over Mercer in which they had 12 assists to 15 turnovers while shooting 40%. More importantly, the Mocs are displaying a sense of confidence late in games that wasn't there the first two months of the season. The Bulldogs have a nice one-two punch in Natalie Armstrong, who had 22 points in this season's first meeting with UTC, and Sarah Myers, who has averaged more than 20 the past two games. The key for UTC, though, may be containing senior guard Charity Brown, who has per-game averages of six assists and five rebounds and has, as does Myers, 35 steals this season.
What's at stake? One win in their final two regular-season games will guarantee the Mocs a top-three seed for the Southern Conference tournament. Win both, and the No. 1 seed is a possibility. The Mocs are a half-game behind league leaders UNC Greensboro and Samford. The Bulldogs host UNCG on Thursday and Western Carolina two days later to close the regular season. UNCG sandwiches its trip to Samford with Saturday's home game against Furman and the regular-season finale at Mercer a week later.
Up next: The Mocs will host East Tennessee State at 2 p.m. on Feb. 29 in their regular-season finale.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.