Note: The following was written by Todd Vinyard, who will be blogging throughout the 2015-16 basketball and wrestling seasons as teams prepare to head to Asheville, N.C., in March.
Next week, the Journey to Asheville will be complete, and the Southern Conference 2016 Basketball Championships presented by General Shale and 2016 Arby's Wrestling Championship will begin. Before the big week in March, there are a few regular-season things to settle in the SoCon before Asheville. Here's a quick look at what has been happening with help from the media relation offices in the conference and schools.
What We've Learned
Parity is evident in women's basketball and wrestling: There are some familiar names at the top in both sports, but there are also more names than normal in the mix, too.
The Chattanooga women have taken over first place thanks to recent big wins over Mercer and Samford.
"I haven't been in the conference that long, but this year you did see plenty of the teams at the top have challenges with lower teams," said Mercer women’s coach Susie Gardner. "The play in the conference is very good every game."
All wrestling teams have finished their seasons ahead of the March 5 championship at Kimmel Arena in Asheville. Appalachian State, Chattanooga and Gardner-Webb finished in a three-way tie at the top of the conference. Several schools have individuals in the running for NCAA spots.
Large crowds turning out in Chattanooga: Moc fans have been turning out in big numbers as the SoCon regular season ends.
The women's team had 2,933 fans see Chattanooga beat Mercer 67-45 to take over first place in the regular-season standings. UTC's 6,104 for the UConn women's game on Nov. 30 is still the largest crowd for any Southern Conference home game this season, men or women.
Coming Up
The women's basketball regular-season title chase comes down to the final weekend. The Mocs lead by a half game and have a contest at home with ETSU on Saturday remaining. Mercer has two games left, starting Thursday with Wofford and then Saturday against Furman. Both games are at home in Macon, Ga., for the Bears.
UTC has won seven straight and keeps building momentum toward March. Queen Alford led the Mocs in scoring last week as UTC moved up the SoCon standings. She shot 55.6 percent for the week and averaged 21 points per game with 7.5 rebounds per game. From the 3-point line, she made 75 percent of her attempts (6-of-8) and was 6-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Mercer has seen a young team that includes seven freshmen and six sophomores grow up fast this season.
Names To Know
ETSU is the only team in the SoCon with two players averaging 15.0 or more points. Shamauria Bridges is averaging 15.4 points per game, and teammate Tianna Tarter is averaging 17.3.
Wofford rallied past Western Carolina, 72-71. The Terriers ended the game with a 10-2 run and guard Chanel Stokes’ two free throws with 29 seconds remaining sealed the win.
Citadel junior Aaron Walker completed a perfect dual-match season at 157 pounds with a pin at the 4:32 mark of his match against North Carolina. Walker finishes the 2015-16 season with a 15-0 record in dual matches and is a team-best 26-5 overall this season.
Appalachian State freshman wrestler Randall Diabe got the Mountaineers on track with a win on the way to a team victory over Indiana to finish the season.
VMI's Taylor Thomas grinded out a 7-5 tiebreaker decision over GMU's Cameron Houston in the 197-pound division.
Chattanooga wrestler Kamaal Shakur lost to Walker in an end-of-season matchup of undefeated 157-pounders in a tight match. Moc coach Heath Eslinger sees positives. "It is something we can build on heading into the conference tournament," Eslinger said.
The Catamounts hit 10 3-pointers against Wofford, with a career- best seven coming from Ace Easter.
Gardner-Webb has had quite a season this year, finishing in a three-way tie for first place in wrestling. The Runnin' Bulldogs won Arby's Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week honors twice this year. Boyce Cornwell and Austin Trott received those honors.
SIUE wrestler Freddie Rodriguez placed third at 125 pounds at the U.S. Collegiate Championships, hosted by the Air Force Academy.
The Campbell Camels got off to a good start as freshman wrestler Collin Stewart earned bonus points right off the bat with a 16-0 technical fall over Davidson's Zamir Ode en route to a 42-3 victory.
What To Watch For
There are plenty of events coming up at the Southern Conference Championships to watch for and take part in for visitors and Asheville residents. One of them offers kids a chance to have a full day of action on March 5.
From the Southern Conference:
Downtown Dribble & KidsFest
Date: Saturday, March 5
Time: 9-11:30 a.m.
Location: Pack Square, Asheville, NC 28801
Details: The Southern Conference, Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission and the YMCA of Western North Carolina will be hosting the Downtown Dribble and KidsFest on Saturday morning, March 5. Pack Square in downtown Asheville will be populated by games, activities, bands, cheerleaders and mascots, as well as healthy lifestyle exhibits and interactives for children. KidsFest will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 11 a.m. with the start of the fourth annual Downtown Dribble. Each kid participating in the Downtown Dribble will receive a free T-shirt and basketball and participate in a dribble parade from Pack Square to the U.S. Cellular Center. Participants in the Downtown Dribble and KidsFest will also receive free admission to the men's basketball quarterfinal-round session at noon. The Downtown Dribble and KidsFest are free of charge to all participants.
That is it for the Journey to Asheville. Thanks for joining us and hope you will take in some of the action March 3-7. For more on that and everything leading up to it check out http://www.soconsports.com.