Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster watches his team practice for the NCAA women's college basketball tournament in this 2014 file photo.The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team opens its 2014-15 season Friday night at 7:30 against Villanova in the first of three straight days of basketball at McKenzie Arena in the Tip-Off Challenge.
Villanova and South Florida will face off Saturday at 4 p.m., and the Mocs will be back in action Sunday at 2 p.m. against USF.
The Mocs are the defending Southern Conference champions, with a perfect 18-0 run through the conference last season and a 29-4 overall mark in coach Jim Foster's first season. However, the team has undergone a lot of changes and there are be many new storylines heading into the new season. Here are five questions facing the Mocs heading into Friday's season opener.
• 1. Can the roster be restocked quickly?
UTC lost five key players -- including four starters -- from last year's team, including SoCon female athlete of the year Taylor Hall as well as post players Ashlyn Dewart and Faith Dupree and guards Meghan Downs and Alex Black. Without that core group, returning starters Chelsey Shumpert and Aryanna Gilbert will have to up their games, and at least some of the first-year Mocs will need to contribute early.
• 2. Who will lead?
The loss off so many seniors leaves a leadership vacuum in the locker room as well as on the court. Seniors Destiny Bramblett and Ka'Vonne Towns will need to take charge in a way that hasn't been asked of them before. They will get some help from fellow senior Kayla Freeman, who will remain on the roster but not play her final season because of injury, and there also will be opportunies for junior Alicia Payne and other underclassmen to lead as the season progresses.
• 3. Can the block party continue?
The loss of Dewart and Dupree eliminates what was one of the Mocs' biggest strengths, especially in SoCon play. The 6-foot-2 Jasmine Joiner gave UTC a spark off the bench last season at times, setting a freshman record with 56 blocks in her first collegiate season and blocking 10 shots in three games at the Southern Conference tournament. Joiner now will be expected to be the main post player in her sophomore season, and how she takes to that challenge will be crucial for how the Mocs perform in the lane. She'll need to get some help from redshirt freshman Ansley Chilton, a 6-3 former standout at Dade County, but Joiner must establish herself underneath the basket and prove she can built on a phenomenally successful freshman performance.
• 4. Can Bramblett produce?
Bramblett missed last season recovering from surgery on one ankle and missed several weeks of workouts over the summer after breaking her other ankle in a pickup game. Even before her injury, the 5-11 guard from Radcliff, Ky., was used off the bench with limited minutes. While she saw Foster's system from the bench last season, it remains to be seen if what she's seen can be transferred to the court starting Friday. If she can contribute after a year off and be a more consistent player in her final season, she could be the key to the Mocs having a successful season.
• 5. Is the tempo changing?
Thoughout preseason practices, several players and coaches emphasized that this year's team is more athletic than recent seasons, and Foster has indicated that the Mocs will use their speed to press teams and force a more up-tempo style. With the still relatively new 10-second backcourt violation changing defenses in the women's game, challenging the inbound pass and making it difficult to bring the ball across midcourt can cause trouble for some teams. If Foster's young Mocs squad can successfully create their own version of the "Chaos" style that UTC men's coach Will Wade is trying to develop and maintain the intensity for 40 minutes, they could cause opponents trouble on offense and defense.
Contact Jim Tanner at jtanner@timesfreepress.com or 757-6478.