DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. --- Chattanooga women's basketball wrapped up a blemish-free weekend in the Sunshine State late Saturday night, as UTV was able to knock off Northern Kentucky by a score of 63-47 to finish undefeated at the 2023 Daytona Beach Classic.
The Mocs (6-1, 0-0 SoCon) continue to showcase a dominant shooting stroke against the Norse (1-4, 0-0 Horizon) with Chattanooga having now shot at least 40 percent from field goal range in every game of the 2023-24 season so far. With the win, UTC joins Dayton as one of only two teams to finish the tournament with a perfect 2-0 record. 10 total teams were in attendance at this year's event at the Ocean Center.
NKU scored the very first bucket of the night, which was quickly answered by the Mocs not long after. That would be the first, last and only lead of the night for the Norse, as UTC proceeded to dominant the remainder of the night against Northern Kentucky.
Even despite early foul trouble from Raven Thompson, who played just four minutes of the first half, Chattanooga fought through a very physical NKU squad by picking the Norse apart from behind the arc. Both Sigrun Olafsdottir and Hannah Kohn connected on three three-point baskets a piece for UTC in the first half, helping the Mocs build up a 30-22 halftime advantage.
Fouls and bodies continued to fly in the second half, but UTC continued to stick to its gameplan as this time the usual leading-scorers for the Mocs, Jada Guinn and Raven Thompson, shouldered the load. Guinn continued to be put at the line for Chattanooga, as the grad student ended up scoring 10 of her team-high 18 points from the charity stripe, marking a career-high for her when it comes to free throws made.
Not only did Guinn get involved via her shooting, but the Oak Ridge, Tennessee, native was crucial for the Mocs on the boards as she brought down a team-high nine rebounds, just one shy of having her earn her fourth collegiate double-double. Thompson also got heavily involved for the Mocs, scoring 14 total points and grabbing eight rebounds to follow up her double-double performance from a night ago.
The lead only got as close as 12 points in the final quarter of action, and UTC was able to steamroll through their competition to grab a 63-47 win to close out their time in Daytona Beach. With the win, Coach Poppie and his crew is now off to the best start to a Chattanooga women's basketball season since 2012-13, when that year's team having started the year 9-1.
Besides Guinn's 18 points and Thompson's 14, Olafsdottir would finish with a season-high 11 points while Hannah Kohn tallied nine. Addie Grace Porter led the way with a season-high six assists on the night, while Jada Guinn's four steal performance marked yet another season-high for her on the weekend.
FROM THE HEAD COACH | QUOTES
On outscoring opponent all four quarters.
"We were on about finishing the right way. I thought we lost a little focus there early parts of the fourth, especially offensively. Now defensively we kind of stay true. I thought we did a really solid job keeping the ball out of the paint for the most part. You know a lot of stuff we can improve on but proud of the group. You think that first half, we went into half up eight and we had Raven for three minutes, I think, before she got in foul trouble. She ends the night 14 and eight. Sigrun came up huge in that first half. We needed some scoring. Obviously, Jada got to the free throw line tonight for us. A lot of good things. Hannah came in hit three threes. You know we got them some minutes. Overall very pleased. Twelve turnovers; that's lower than it's been. That's a good thing. We didn't shoot the ball particularly well, but man, if we can make a layup. How many layups did we missed tonight? We go 8-for-19 from the 3, 42 percent, but overall we shoot 40 percent. Maybe we need to take "more 3" philosophy, I guess."
On the attitude on and off the court.
"I guess my challenge to them was that this a back-to-back. First time we've done it. I think we've made a little bit of a mark here in Daytona. You get a chance nine other teams are gonna watch around, right? They were in the hotels, how are we acting? How do we look together? What do we play like? How is our bench? I thought yesterday we came in and there was a buzz in the gym when we were here. That means something to us and we put people on notice a little bit. I thought today was another opportunity. Was that a fluke or is this who Chattanooga is? You're going to create some more fans but you're also going to create some buzz of 'hey, we saw them down there and Daytona they can they can really play'. I'm proud that we finished this thing out 2-0, if I'm not mistaken, there's 10 teams here, only two of us went 2-0, so I'm very proud. A lot to be proud of as we go back to Chattanooga."
TOP TAKEAWAYS | NOTES
- Chattanooga finished the Daytona Beach Classic a perfect 2-0. Only UTC and Dayton ended the tournament undefeated of the 10 teams in attendance.
- The Mocs have now started the season 6-1, the best start for UTC under Shawn Poppie.
- The last time Chattanooga started 6-1 or better in their first seven games? The 2012-13 season in which UTC started the year 9-1.
- Chattanooga officially tied the all-time series between the Mocs and Norse tonight at 3-3. UTC's record against NKU in neutral site games is now 1-1.
- This was the first meeting between the Mocs and Norse since January 25, 1983.
- The Mocs have led all seven games this year at the half.
- Five of Chattanooga's six wins have been by double-digits including tonight's 16-point win. The only non-10+ point win for UTC was against Austin Peay (5 points).
- Once again, the duo of Jada Guinn and Raven Thompson each scored 10+ points for the Mocs, with Guinn dropping 18 and Thompson notching 14. The pair has each scored double-digits in all seven games this year.
- Guinn and Thompson have now accounted for 239 of Chattanooga's 491 total points on the year (48.7 percent of UTC's scoring).
- UTC shot 40.8 percent (20-for-49) from the field. The Mocs have shot above 40 percent from the floor in every game this season.
- The Mocs also shot 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from three-point range tonight. This is the fifth time this season the team has shot above 40 percent from three. UTC won all five of those games.
- The last time UTC had a better three-point percentage than their overall field goal percentage: March 3, 2023 against ETSU in the SoCon Tournament Semifinals. That game the Mocs shot 48 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three in the victory.
UP NEXT: KENNESAW STATE
UTC will now have a short break before heading to Kennesaw State on Wednesday, November 29 to take on the Owls. Tipoff for the Mocs is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, with a stream of the game being made available on ESPN+ as well as over the radio on 96.1 FM/100.3 FM/1070 AM.
50 SEASONS OF CHATTANOOGA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The 2023 season for the Chattanooga women's basketball team marks a major landmark for the program and the university, as UTC women's basketball officially celebrates its 50th season of competition as a university sponsored athletic program. Following the adoption of the Title IX legislation back in 1972, UTC added women's basketball, tennis and volleyball programs to its roster of athletic teams, bringing on five decades of history and success for each of the teams. Chattanooga WBB will be putting on multiple promotions and content pieces throughout the 2023-24 season to celebrate the program's history, culminating in the team hosting its 50th Season Celebration and Reunion during the Mocs' February 3 matchup against Furman at McKenzie Arena.
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