Mocs appreciate rest before women’s final
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — After winning its first two games of the Southern Conference tournament in dominating fashion, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team may have been expected to want to jump back on the court without taking a day off.
But for certain players, it was very necessary.
The Mocs won Thursday and Friday games over Western Carolina and UNC Greensboro by an average of 33 points but lost guard Keiana Gilbert in the first quarter of Friday’s win while her sister Aryanna played 35 minutes while battling through a back problem.
“She gutted it out,” UTC coach Jim Foster said Friday. “I was sort of hoping the ref would pick up the ball for her and stop her from doing it.”
Added the elder Gilbert: “The day off is good for us. We had a lot of people that played a lot of minutes, and it will give me and Key some time to get our bodies back right, so it’s appreciated.”
Both sisters are expected to play today as the Mocs go for their fifth consecutive SoCon championship at the U.S. Cellular Center, playing Mercer at 1.
UTC (20-10) won the two regular-season meetings over the Bears by an average of 19 points.
A win today would be the program’s 15th consecutive win in SoCon tournaments.
“We know what to do to win,” Aryanna Gilbert said. “We’re the only team that has experience winning a championship, so I think our experience will be a factor.”
She admitted the extra time would be useful for the team. Nobody played more than Jasmine Joyner’s 26 minutes against WCU’s Catamounts, but four players logged at least 35 minutes against the Spartans.
The team is riding high with confidence, though. UTC and Mercer are the two best teams in the league by far this season. It’s fitting that they play in the final, but the Mocs know a good start could lead to a great finish.
As well as some good health.
“We know we have to have a lot of energy at the beginning,” junior guard Chelsey Shumpert said. “We have to keep our confidence high going down to our last game of the tournament.
“We’ve been able to maintain our focus throughout the whole game.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress. com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.