UTC Women Blast ETSU 69-40 to Advance to SoCon Title Game

(gomocs.com)

ASHEVILLE—The Chattanooga Mocs roared into the championship game of the Southern Conference Championships presented by Ingles with a 69-40 win over ETSU in the Harrah’s Cherokee Center. It was a dominant performance on both ends of the floor. 

Raven Thompson led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds. The Mocs were a +36 on the scoreboard in here 31:25 of playing time. Yazz Wazeerud-Din added 20 points, while Abbey Cornelius collected a game-high 12 boards. Nevaeh Brown paced the Bucs with 12. 

The Mocs take a day off before squaring off with Wofford on Sunday. The title game is Sunday at Noon on ESPN+. Chattanooga is playing for its 19th tourney crown, while it’s the second trip all-time to the final round for the Terriers finishing as runners-up in 2021. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Chattanooga broke open a close game with a dominant defensive second quarter. ETSU was allowed a mere two points in 1 of 11 (9.1%) shooting turning a 14-13 deficit into a 29-16 halftime advantage. The Mocs got better as the game continued. 

The lead reached 20-plus on Sigrun Olafsdottir breakaway layup on a near full-court feed from Thompson before the midpoint of the third period. It topped 30 on Destiny McClendon’s layup late in the fourth before getting to 32 on a Takia Davis free throw with just over a minute to play. A Bucs three before the buzzer provided the 29-point final margin. 

It’s the third-largest SoCon semifinal winning spread in school history and the largest since 2014:

33 (77-44) vs. Elon, 2014

30 (67-37) vs. Elon, 2004

29 (69-40) vs. ETSU, 2023

RECORDS/SERIES

Chattanooga (19-12) | ETSU (23-9)

Series: Chattanooga leads 65-25 all-time / Chattanooga leads 5-2 in SoCon Tournament Meetings

NOTES TO KNOW

• SoCon-record 19th semifinal victory with Furman a distant second with 9. 19-10 all-time in the round with 18 tournament titles in the 39 seasons the league has crowned a tournament champ.
• 19th win on the season. Play Sunday for the 22nd 20-win season in program history.
• Tied a season low with nine turnovers which came in the home win over ETSU and road triumph at Samford. 10-1 when recording fewer turnovers than opposition including today with the Bucs recording 13.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shot just 28.6 percent (4-14) in the opening 10 minutes. Hit 20 of 36 (55.6%) the rest of the way.
• Held the Bucs to just 27.7 percent (13-47) for the contest, a miniscule 25.0 percent (9-36) INSIDE the arc.
• It’s the sixth time Raven Thompson has tallied her season-high total of 23 points. It’s her fourth double-double and third night with 20 & 10.