Jim Foster doesn’t care for labels.
When Foster was head women’s basketball coach at Saint Joseph’s, the term “mid major” wasn’t as heavily used as it is today.
At his next two stops — Vanderbilt and Ohio State — Foster didn’t have to worry about the label because he was coaching in two of the best conferences (Southeastern and Big Ten) in the nation.
These days, though, there are bracketologists for the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments as well as a selection show for the men’s National Invitation Tournament on ESPN. With each addition to the beast that is March Madness, the term “mid major” gets used more and more and more.
Here’s a warning: Don’t call the Chattanooga women’s basketball team, Foster’s current home, a “mid major” program.
“I don’t really know what that means,” said Foster, who was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. “People use it, but we’re a Division I basketball team. We don’t have a football team that plays in the Rose Bowl, but I don’t know what a mid major is. It is a term somebody made up to differentiate (schools from other schools).”
Chattanooga’s resume shows it thinks of itself in bigger terms than some of the so-called experts who are hung up on labels. Last season, Chattanooga defeated Tennessee, Stanford, and Villanova and lost to South Florida and Notre Dame en route to winning 29 games.
This season, Chattanooga has built on that success by going 24-7 and winning the Southern Conference tournament championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. At 1:30 p.m. Friday (ESPN2), No. 12 seed Chattanooga will take on No. 5 seed Mississippi State (26-7) in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Humphrey Coliseum.
The winner of that game will play the winner of the game between No. 4 seed Michigan State and No. 13 seed Belmont at a time to be determined Sunday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Foster is familiar with MSU from his days with Ohio State. In 2009 and 2010, the Buckeyes faced the Bulldogs, led by then-head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis, in the NCAA tournament. Ohio State eliminated MSU in 2009 but lost to MSU in the second round in 2010.
Now in his third season at Chattanooga, Foster has challenged his team by scheduling some of the nation’s perennial powers. Chattanooga has won 82 games in that stretch by being a “disciplined defensive team” that doesn’t hurt itself by fouling. In fact, Foster said Chattanooga has been first in the nation in fewest fouls committed in two of the last three season.
“We move our feet and communicate and do what we are supposed to do,” Foster said. “As a result, we are a very good defensive team.”
Foster said rule changes that don’t allow players to hand check opponents and encourage freedom of movement make his team’s discipline on defense even more important.
In addition to making teams earn what they get, Foster said Chattanooga makes defenses work to stop it because it has so many weapons. Junior Jasmine Joyner, who is from Southaven, leads the team in scoring (12.9 points per game), blocked shots (125), and rebounds (9.3). Sophomore Keiana Gilbert (12.6 ppg.) and redshirt junior Queen Alford (11.1), a transfer from Jacksonville, also average in double figures.
Foster said Chattanooga has had to adjust to losing Chelsey Shumpert three games into the season to an injury. A year ago, Shumpert was second on the team in scoring to Joyner at 11.5 ppg. He said other players accelerated their learning curve and developed an ability to create their own shots, which has made the entire team tougher to guard.
Foster pointed to back-to-back losses to Samford and Mercer in January as a turning point. He said a bye week came at the right time and allowed the team to tweak things on offense and defense. It also was at the same time that the Mocs started to shoot better from the field. In fact, Foster said his team’s shooting percentage rose 11 points from earlier in the season.
As a result, Chattanooga comes to Starkville riding an 11-game winning streak. It is shooting 42.5 percent from the field and averaging 58 ppg.
“(The improved shooting percentage) obviously makes a difference,” Foster said. “The floor gets a little bit bigger and players have the ability to get to the basket in combination with 3-point shooting, so we’re able to space the floor well. It also makes it easier for players who have the ability to go get their own shot to go get their own.”
On Friday, Foster knows his team will have to be ready for an aggressive, athletic opponent, much like teams like Southern Mississippi and Arkansas State his team faced earlier this season. He said he scheduled games against those teams because he knew Chattanooga was going to face different styles in the postseason. Playing MSU on its home court will add another wrinkle to the equation, but Foster feels his team will be up for the challenge because it defends, it can block shots, and it defends the 3-point line.
“I think any one of our starting five is capable of stepping up and having a significant game,” Foster said. “(Alicia) Red Payne offensively is maturing as we speak. She is a senior on her last run, and she ended up being the MVP of our conference tournament. … Joyner has a significant number of double-doubles and led the country in blocked shots for a long time.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.