The Hoosiers are set to play No. 24 Chattanooga (2-0) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Assembly Hall; the Mocs travel to Bloomington with a pair of victories early on in the season, coming off a 60-49 win against Butler on Nov. 15.
“I’m very glad that we have an opportunity to play in the WNIT,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “We hope that we’ll be in it, and that we’ll continue to advance in each game. Each game is going to be a little bit harder, and then we’ll really get a good snapshot of who we are.”
Chattanooga entered the 2015-16 season coming off its third consecutive 29-4 season. The Mocs finished the year with an undefeated record in Southern Conference play and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Chattanooga returns four starters and its top three leading scorers from last year’s team, including 6-foot-2 junior forward Jasmine Joyner, who averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks per game.
The Mocs also bring back a speedy backcourt tandem of 5-foot-4 junior guard Chelsey Shumpert and 5-foot-9 sophomore guard Aryanna Gilbert; the duo scored a combined 22 points per game for last season’s team. Rounding out the backcourt is as pass-first guard in Alicia Payne, who led the Mocs in assists with 3.5 per game.
Chattanooga will present an early test to a Hoosier team that will count on the electrifying duo of sophomore guard Tyra Buss and sophomore forward Amanda Cahill. Buss was relatively held in check in the first half against Tennessee State on Friday, shooting 0-6 from the floor in the first half before finishing with a team-high 21 points. Cahill paced the Hoosiers down low, scoring 17 points and collecting eight rebounds.
In the first round of the Preseason WNIT, Chattanooga handled McNeese State, 68-53, at home. Gilbert scored a game-high 19 rebounds while Joyner finished in double-double figures with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. The Mocs showed in their first two games they pride themselves in balance.
Following Friday’s win, Moren expressed her concern with how her team played after halftime. Tennessee State outscored IU in both quarters of the second half, including a 14-0 run by the Tigers. In its exhibition, IU also allowed Slippery Rock to create some momentum following halftime. Those runs may not have mattered in the final score, however, the Mocs went on a 12-2 run following halftime to take care of McNeese State.
“That’s one of the things that sometimes you hate, that there’s a halftime,” Moren said. “We had some really good rhythm going. We challenged the kids at halftime to not redo what we did against Slippery Rock. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to go back and focus on that third quarter and why we played the way we did.”
IU will continue Preseason WNIT play Thursday in either the semifinals of the tournament or a consolation game.
