CHATTANOOGA --- Chattanooga women's basketball wrapped up its non-conference season with a rout on Saturday in front of the McKenzie Arena faithful, after the Mocs demolished Salem University 93-34 in UTC's final game of the 2024 calendar year.
One could point out numerous notes and stat lines from UTC's dominant victory over the Tigers, including the Mocs recording their fourth-largest margin of victory in program history with the 59-point win, but the most impressive from a team perspective would be that every member of the Chattanooga roster that stepped foot on the floor on Saturday ended up scoring on the day.
"I'm very proud of this group," head coach Deandra Schirmer said. "I feel like a lot of times this can be somewhat of a trap game where, you know, you got one game before the holiday break, and they might not be locked in, or they might not be as focused.
"Starting off that first half, and in the first quarter we only gave up eight points. Second quarter, only gave up three points. I really feel like our group was really locked in and definitely proud of the focus and determination and finishing out for 40 minutes."
While an early three-point basket by the Tigers gave Salem a 3-2 lead just under a minute into the game, a Gianna Corbitt three that followed immediately after gave Chattanooga a lead that it would not lose again for the remainder of the day.
Dominating every single aspect of the game, UTC's starters got the Mocs off to a hot start as the team pulled away to a 24-8 advantage through the opening 10 minutes of action. Chattanooga's defense would continue to fuel its offense, with the Mocs only allowing Salem to score three points in the second quarter to take a 45-11 lead into halftime.
Now with many of UTC's backups getting significant minutes, the Mocs continued to keep their foot on the gas as they bowled through any and every look that the Tigers tried to throw at them. Salem was able to rattle home a handful of baskets down the stretch, but it truly was all Chattanooga for about 39 of the 40 minutes of action in the Roundhouse as the Mocs closed out their non-conference season with a 93-34 blowout.
Some notable stat lines for the team included the Mocs shooting 55.9 percent (38-for-68) from the floor, UTC out-rebounding Salem 49-25, the Mocs out-scoring the Tigers 50-6 in the paint, and Chattanooga wrapping up its day having recorded 23 assists alongside 16 steals overall.
Gianna Corbitt dazzled for the Mocs, notching her second career double-double after leading the Mocs in both scoring (17) and rebounding (14) as both totals marked new career-highs for the Oakland Park, Florida, native. Corbitt was one of five Mocs that ended their days as double-digit scorers, with Corbitt being joined by Brooke Anya (14), Caia Elisaldez (13), Ava Card (13) and Sigrun Olafsdottir (12).
Elisaldez ended her day by matching her season-high of seven assists, leading the way for the Mocs. There were also a total of four UTC players that wrapped up the day having logged 3+ steals individually: Olafsdottir (4), Card (4), Corbitt (3) and Anya (3).
Jade Moore, who was playing in her very-first game in McKenzie Arena after making her Chattanooga debut last Sunday at Nebraska, finished her day with nine points after shooting 3-for-6 from three-point range in the win.
FROM THE HEAD COACH | QUOTES
On integration of all players into the game
"It's huge. There's been a lot of time when we're trying to get some players integrated and there might be injury setbacks. One of those players, Masa, she's somebody that we've been trying to get into the lineup. She's been dealing with some nagging injuries and stuff. She came out, was able to play well. Then having Jada Moore. She's a proven scorer at this level. She averaged 10 points per game at her last institution. I know the staff is excited for what she's able to give, but also our players. I don't know if you saw when she lined up for the first one, everybody stood up on the bench because we all knew it was going to go in. We know the work that she puts in. We know the kind of player that she is. To see her have a moment like that and feel comfortable and not just do it from shooting threes, she also had a great assist to Sigrun [Olafsdottir] in transition. So adding that dynamic in, I feel like we've kind of been withstanding a lot and now we were able to attack. It felt good for us to come out and be aggressive both offensively and defensively."
TOP TAKEAWAYS | NOTES
- Today marks the very-first meeting all-time between Chattanooga and Salem University.
- The Mocs now lead the all-time series 1-0.
- Salem marks the third team this season that UTC has played for the very first time in program history. The other two were Penn and Bellarmine.
- This is also the third Division II team that the Mocs have played against this season. The other two were Shorter and King.
- Coach Schirmer went with the following starting five: Elisaldez, Olafsdottir, Murphy, Corbitt, Anya.
- The Mocs are now 2-3 when rolling with that starting lineup.
- It is now the most-used starting lineup for the Mocs this season (five games).
- UTC's 93-34 victory was the fourth-largest margin of victory by the Mocs in program history (+59).
- UTC's 93 points scored are the most in a game for the team since scoring 96 against Georgia Southern back on Dec. 20, 2020 (Mocs won 96-87).
- UTC's 34 points allowed are the fewest in a game for the team since giving up 32 to King University last season (Nov. 6, 2023, Mocs won 88-32).
- The Mocs scored 20+ points in every quarter of the game.
- Salem was held to just 11 first half points.
- It's the fewest first half points allowed by Chattanooga this season.
- Salem was also held to just three points in the second quarter.
- It ties the fewest points allowed by UTC in a quarter this season.
- The Mocs shot 55.9 percent (38-for-68) from the floor compared to Salem's 21.2 percent (11-for-52).
- The Mocs also shot 37 percent (10-for-27) from three-point range while Salem finished 28.6 percent (8-for-28).
- Chattanooga won the turnover battle by forcing 24 and only having 13 (+11 turnover margin).
- It's the best turnover margin for the Mocs in a game this season.
- It's also the second-fewest turnovers (13) in a game by UTC this year behind only having 12 against King University earlier this season.
- The Mocs proceeded to score 33 points off turnovers compared to Salem only scoring three points off turnovers.
- Chattanooga out-rebounded Salem 49-25 (+24 margin).
- It's the largest rebounding margin in a game for UTC since Feb. 23, 2013 against Western Carolina (finished with a +27 margin).
- It's also the most total rebounds in a game by the Mocs since recording 50 against Georgia State back on Dec. 21, 2020.
- The Mocs notched 16 total steals in the win, the second-most in a game for UTC this year.
- Chattanooga out-scored Salem in the paint, 50-6.
- It's the most points scored in the paint in a game for UTC this season.
- The Mocs also had 23 assists as a team.
- It marks the most assists in a game for UTC since logging 25 against Georgia Southern on Dec. 20, 2020.
UP NEXT: WESTERN CAROLINA
Today's game marked the end of UTC's 2024 slate, as well as the non-conference finale for the Mocs. Chattanooga will now take a lengthy Christmas break before returning to the court in 2025 for the team's Southern Conference opener, which will pit UTC against Western Carolina on January 9 in Cullowhee, North Carolina. That game is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m. ET and will be available to stream via ESPN+ as well as over the radio on WFLI 96.1 FM/100.3 FM/1070 AM or The Varsity app.
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