Knowledge is power
UTC women take aim at 6th straight SoCon title
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball program will begin its pursuit of a sixth consecutive Southern Conference tournament title with a quarterfinal against UNC Greensboro this evening in Asheville, N.C.
Winning this year’s championship could be the stiffest challenge yet in the title string for the Mocs, but the burden could be equally felt by their opponents — today and beyond.
UTC coach Jim Foster has made it known throughout the season the objective for the third-seeded Mocs (17-11) is to win “three games in four days” in Asheville, and that starts with their 5:45 p.m. matchup against sixth-seeded UNCG (12-17) at the U.S. Cellular Center. Foster has also been very clear the only women’s basketball players currently in the SoCon who know what it takes to do just that wear blue-and-gold uniforms with “Chattanooga” etched across their chest.
Since Foster took over at UTC prior to the 2013-14 season, his teams have been the only ones to win titles.
“It’s a reality, a truth,” Foster said Tuesday. “I usually like to deal in truth. I think the players, if you play well, you feel good about yourself. If you have mastered some specifics that have been talked about a lot, you feel better about yourself. If you have a better understanding of what the expectation is, you feel better about yourself.
“All those things are reality.” The Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer has done all of those things with what is the youngest roster in his UTC tenure, and it has only grown younger during the season. Aryanna Gilbert is the lone senior remaining for the Mocs after her sister Keiana was lost for the season due to a lower body injury. Aryanna has been on each of the Mocs’ four championship teams, so she’s aware of the road ahead.
“We are the only team that knows how to win a championship,” she said matter-of-factly, “so we just take that confidence. I know a lot of players on the team now haven’t been part of that tradition, so now we’re trying to establish that with them and go into the tournament confident in our ability and what we’ve done to continue it.”
Lakelyn Bouldin, a sophomore, joined Aryanna as a thirdteam all-SoCon selection this season, but beyond them, the depth isn’t there. Four freshmen have been asked to play vital roles down the stretch, though, and they have responded at different points.
Bria Dial was named to the All-Socon freshman team, while Brooke Burns has averaged 14.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in three games since entering the starting lineup. Mya Long started the past two games and scored 15 points against Mercer, while Rochelle Lee has a pair of starts this season and has provided interior depth.
Without Keiana, they — along with junior guard Molly Melton, junior forwards Shelbie Davenport and Ashlyn Wert, plus sophomore Arianne Whitaker — will have to step up their games.
Aryanna said during her freshman season, it was the older players who set the example about how to go about business. Now it’s up to her to provide that leadership to the others.
Due to UTC’s circumstances — plus the surge of 25th-ranked Mercer, which went undefeated through the league schedule in the regular season — she believes teams aren’t giving the Mocs the same respect they would have in past seasons. And the team is mindful of that.
“I still feel like teams know we are Chattanooga, so we’re not going to go down without a fight, but I do think some teams are looking down on us, especially without Key,” Aryanna said. “I feel they might not take us as serious, so that’s something we’re keeping in mind going into the tournament.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghen ley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.