UTC Women’s Basketball Team Sign Five Players

(GoMocs.com) Just as the 2016-17 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball season is preparing to get underway, Mocs head coach Jim Foster announced the signing of five to next season’s roster.

The Mocs will add Baylor’s Mya Long and Jacobi Lynn of McMinn Central, along with Rochelle Lee from Houston High School in Germantown, Tenn., Brook Burns of Gadsden City High School in Alabama and Bria Dial from Brentwood Academy.

Lynn, a 5-foot-7 point guard, was a Class AA Miss Basketball finalist and rated as a three-star prospect by ESPN. Last season McMinn County posted a 31-3 overall record on its way to the state semifinals. In her sophomore year, she helped the Chargerettes to the 2015 state final. As a junior, Lynn averaged 22.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, two steals and 4.5 assists per game.

Long, a 5-foot-9 guard begins her fifth year on the varsity team for the Red Raiders. She was the leading scorer last season for Baylor with 16.5 points per game and averaged 4.5 rebounds, two steals and 1.5 assists while leading the Raiders to a 23-8 overall record. She helped Baylor to back-to-back Division II State Tournament appearances including last year’s runner-up finish.

Her mother Stephanie Martin was a member of UTC’s basketball team under Craig Parrott in the early 1990s.

Burns, the Mocs’ lone Alabama signee, is a 5-foot-10 guard who has played on the varsity squad since seventh grade and served as team captain since eighth. She was selected to the All-Area and All-Region teams while leading her team with 20.3 points per game. She averaged 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game last season while shooting better than 85 percent from the charity stripe.

She and Long have played AAU ball together since eighth grade.

With recent success from Memphis-area signees such as senior Jasmine Joyner and graduate Alicia Payne, the Mocs have picked up a commit from Germantown’s Houston High School. Lee spent two seasons at Southwind before making the move to Houston last year. The 6-foot-3 center helped the Lady Mustangs to a school-record 27 wins, claiming the district title and advancing to the Region 8-AAA semifinals. She shot 52 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line.

Dial, a 6-foot combination guard/forward is an all-region and all-state performer who helped Brentwood to a third straight Division II-AA state title. She averaged 10.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals and recorded four double-doubles while leading her team to a 27-5 record. Her AAU team, Team Brandan Wright, won the ASGR league championship.

“This is a talented, well-rounded class that fits a lot of our needs relative to our graduates,” Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster said. “They are some very good basketball players who have a passion for the game and want to be coached.

“I think that’s a great package.”

In addition to the five signees, sophomore Arianne Whitaker will be eligible after spending the 2016-17 season on the bench following her transfer from Winthrop.