Foster’s Mocs to make trip to Canada
The 2017-18 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team went from experienced to youthful in a matter of weeks. Entering a season with usually high expectations, a team lacking on-court experience could use a bonding experience.
That opportunity has presented itself.
According to sources, the Mocs will travel to British Columbia in early August. Coach Jim Foster has alluded to such a trip on multiple occasions since UTC’s first-round loss in this year’s NCAA tournament, although the destination had not yet been announced.
Now the trip to Canada will come at a time in which gaining some chemistry will be paramount.
The Mocs graduated four seniors — guards Queen Alford and Moses Johnson and forwards Jasmine Joyner and Sydney Vanlandingham — from last season’s 21-win team. Since UTC’s season-ending 82-62 loss to Louisville, rising senior guard Chelsey Shumpert — who graduated in May — announced her intentions to transfer to NCAA Division II member Union University. Ansley Chilton, another rising senior, will not play this upcoming season.
Prior to those decisions, the Mocs had 16 players signed for the upcoming season, one more than the NCAA limit, so it was expected that one rising senior wasn’t going to play. Losing two — especially Shumpert, a threeyear starter — came as a surprise. As a result, UTC returns less than half of its points (42 percent), rebounds (34) and minutes (48) produced last season.
That leaves two seniors, sisters Aryanna and Keiana Gilbert. Six newcomers, including five freshmen, join the program this year, including area products Mya Long (Baylor) and Jacobi Lynn (McMinn Central), both Miss Basketball finalists in their classifications.
UTC’s turnover wasn’t specific to the players. Assistant coach John McCray left for Florida and director of basketball operations Brianna Sanders went to Akron, marking the first coaching departures since Foster took over prior to the 2013-14 season. The replacements won’t be announced until July 1 — the beginning of the new year in athletics — but it is expected that a former all-conference performer on the UTC women’s team and a longtime Division I basketball coach will replace McCray and Sanders.
With a nonconference schedule that’s usually among the toughest in the country (potential road trips to Indiana, Florida, Green Bay and Stetson), a chance for a young team and a new(ish) staff to mesh should be a good thing.
Oh, Canada.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@ timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.