UTC women will face Louisville at McKenzie
So much for new University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball coach Katie Burrows easing into her first season as the Mocs’ leader.
The program announced Wednesday that UTC will host 2018 Final Four participant Louisville to open the 2018-19 season. The game is Nov. 9 at McKenzie Arena.
It will be the first time a Final Four participant from the prior season has been at McKenzie since Nov. 30, 2015, when Connecticut came to town and won 79-31.
The Cardinals return four starters from the team that finished 36-3 last season, including Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year Asia Durr. The 5-foot-10 guard was a finalist for the Wooden Award, given to the national player of the year, and as an alum of Atlanta’s St. Pius X, the senior could have a big rooting section in the stands.
UTC and Louisville met twice during the 2016-17 season, with the Cardinals winning each comfortably. They won 63-47 in the third game of the Hall of Fame Challenge, then won 82-62 in the first round of the 2017 NCAA tournament. Both games were played at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
“Their program is well-respected,” said Burrows, a Mocs assistant the past eight seasons, in a UTC release. “It’s a great opportunity for our young players to host such a talented team.”
The Mocs return eight players who started at least one game last season, led by all-conference guard Lakelyn Bouldin, who averaged 12.4 points and shot 39 percent from 3-point range as a sophomore in 2017-18.