Chattanooga Builds Confidence With Sharpshooting Win Before Conference Play
Chattanooga Mocs Finish Non Conference Play
Last night the Chattanooga Mocs women’s basketball team was back on the floor for the first time in 11 days, when they defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltopers 59-58.
They faced the Southern Wesleyan Warriors of the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas, and was able to knock off some rust in a 97-46 win, as the Mocs are on another break until January 8, when they host Wofford for the SoCon opener.
It didn’t take much for the game to get out of hand, as Chattanooga came out hot and was able to knock down 12 three pointers on the night and was a perfect 5-for-5 in the first quarter alone.
“I was very proud of our team this week on how we came back from Christmas. We had a two-a-day, the first day back, and they came back and they were as focused as ever,” Coach Deandra Schirmer said postgame. “I was really proud of our preparation going into this game. I think that when you hit shots, it cures a lot of things.”
The Mocs scored 28 points on fast break opportunities alone. They also forced 23 turnovers on the night, with 26 points coming off turnovers. However, Coach Schirmer wanted to see better execution in their defensive plan.
“I think that we had a great defensive game plan going into this game, and I think the girls were bought into it. I just don’t think we had good execution. I think if we have that kind of defensive effort in our conference, we’re not going to win a lot of games,” she said.
“So as much as I’m happy to see us hit shots, and I know the fans are happy to see us hit shots, we’re not going to be able to survive if we don’t start playing better defense.”
Offensively the Mocs had five score in double digits, as Izzy McPherson had a game high 19, Kalifa Ford with 18, Ava Card had 13, Caia Elisaldez and Evie Bruce finished with 11 each.
As mentioned, the Mocs are off again until January 8 when they return to open SoCon play at home against the Wofford Terriers. The Mocs made it through non-conference play with an 8-5 record. Now, it is time for the grind of the conference to begin.
Kalifa Ford also spoke afterwards on what she has learned during non conference play.
“I’ve learned during non-conference play that this team is resilient. I mean, the amount of games we’ve had to come back from, and to be able to come in tonight and our defense wasn’t good, but to be able to make shots and build our confidence so that we know that we can drive and get the kick or whatever teams want to throw at us offensively, we can make those plays for each other,” said Ford.
After sitting out with an injury last season, Ford is ready to get to it. She also had a lot of time to do homework on teams, and is confident in her knowledge of the conference and what it will bring. She is also confident in what she is bringing to the table.
“I’m very excited. I talked to you last year, and it’s like as you sit, you can watch and see what other teams do, who they’re bringing in the next year and things like that, and be confident. See what they bring and then also being confident in seeing what, you know, I would bring as a player to the game,” she said.
“And one thing I feel like I’ve gotten better, even before coming here is my defense, being able to read certain things and being able to provide, some type of energy on that end of the court. And so, going into this, we watch film on every team we play, and we recap every time we play a game,” Kalifa Ford explained.
“So, and I feel like, honestly, once we go and recap this game, see what we did wrong, I think we could honestly make the change and go into the conference more confident.”
We will see how the Mocs shape up before their next time out against the Terriers, who are currently 5-8, after a tough non-conference outing to start the season.
Wofford is right under 70 points per game at 69.4 and shoots just over 40 percent from the field, placing them second in the conference to this point behind Furman.
Stay tuned to Mays Sports Media for women’s basketball coverage throughout the season
