The UTC women's basketball team is having a solid year, at 15-10 overall, and 7-3 in the Southern Conference.
They currently sit tied atop the conference with the Wofford Terriers in Shawn Poppies' first year as head coach.
As the regular season is set to expire in a week and a half Chattanooga has some pivotal games ahead this week, on and off the court.
On Thursday evening UTC plays host to Furman (10-15, 2-8), they may be at the bottom of the SoCon but it's still important to not look past any opponent as they fight for the top spot in the conference. Additionally, it's a special game off the court as it'll be the Breast Cancer Awareness Game and the First 100 fans will receive a Pink t-shirt and color changing tumbler. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Makenzie Arena.
"The game of basketball is just a game, right? Life is way more important and to honor those that survived cancer and it'll be a special night. We're actually going to be unveiling some new uniforms on Thursday, our kids haven't even seen them... so, that'll be a really neat thing for them."
Here's what coach Poppie had to say regarding the Furman team, "They're a good basketball team, they've not been able to win close games, but they've given everybody a run for their money. They obviously did it to us at their place went into double overtime," He continued, "Another thing is, that's my old stomping grounds so there's a little bit of a chip for me as well."
The reason they can't look past Furman is because there's a monster game coming up at the 'Round House' on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. as well against the team they're tied with for the top spot in the conference, Wofford (17-7, 7-3). The other reason this'll be a special game is that it's senior night for four Mocs.
The seniors include Abbey Cornelius, Audrey Canter, Brooke Hampel and Yazz Wazeerud-Din. Abbey, is in her fifth year and is the third UTC player to score 1,000 points, collect 800 rebounds, and block 150 shots.
While Poppie hasn't been here the entire way with the seniors (outside of Yazz as a grad-transfer), they're still going to hold a special place in his heart. "They've taught me what Chattanooga's all about... they've really taught me what it is to be a Moc, and I'll forever be indebted to the work they put it in our first year."
As for the game, Wofford handled Chattanooga pretty well at their place during the first meeting, 64-51 where the Terriers put up two 20-point quarters including outscoring UTC 21-6 in the first quarter.
He knows, this is going to be no easy task. "Wofford is a really good basketball team. They're a little unorthodox compared to most in our league as they really spread you out with all five on the court that can shoot the basketball. They may not shoot it at a very high percentage when you look at a stat sheet, but they shoot a lot of them, and they're very, very capable."
Hopefully Chattanooga has learned and grown from their last meeting and over recent weeks in which this team has been playing better basketball. There was also a newfound confidence that coach Poppie was really proud to see during an adversity-filled moment in their most recent win on the road at Samford.
"We got down 19-9 in the first quarter. That was kind of the moment for me as a coach, we got in the huddle at the end of the first, I kind of challenged them a little bit, and I looked into their eyes and I'm like Oh my goodness this is the first time I've felt like there's a lot of confidence coming right back at me."
They may face a similar moment again on Saturday against Wofford and hopefully they'll respond the same exact way, with all the confidence, and a feeling of calmness during a time of adversity.
If you'd like to hear the entire conversation with UTC women's head basketball coach Shawn Poppie on The Word With G from Tuesday, click here.