CHATTANOOGA --- Chattanooga women's basketball ended up dropping a 64-42 result to Kennesaw State on Sunday afternoon in the Roundhouse, with the Mocs now falling to a 4-6 record on the year.
An injury-depleted Mocs team found itself unable to match the pace and physicality of the Owls, as KSU ended up out-scoring the Mocs 48-16 in the paint while out-rebounding UTC 47-26 overall. The real tale of the tape came in the second and third quarters, where Chattanooga was out-scored 40-20 by Kennesaw State, as opposed to UTC only being out-scored 24-22 in the first and fourth quarters.
"This is a tough game for us," head coach Deandra Schirmer said. "I feel like in every other game, we've been competing, we've been in it. I think this is a game where we've got to go back to the drawing board and find a way to win. As a coaching staff, that's my responsibility. I know my players are playing hard every single night, and I've got to do a better job of putting them in a better position to win the game."
To open the day, the Mocs kept it tight with the Owls with neither team really giving an inch to the other in terms of wiggle room. Neither UTC nor KSU would build larger than a one-possession lead over the opening 10 minutes of action, and a late three-point basket for Kennesaw would see the Owls carrying a narrow 13-10 lead into the second quarter.
Over the course of the second quarter, however, the Mocs were sent into a spiral by Kennesaw State as physical play by the Owls paired with multiple miscues by UTC helped KSU rip open a double-digit lead. Kennesaw State ended up outscoring the Mocs 18-6 in the second quarter, helping KSU take a 31-16 advantage into halftime.
While the Mocs were able to finally find their flow on offense across the first couple minutes to the second half, cutting KSU's lead down to single digits, the offensive and defensive lapses returned for the Mocs, allowing the Owls to regain and even extend their bloated lead in the game. Finishing the third quarter on a 12-0 scoring run, Kennesaw State now found itself up 53-30 heading into the final 10 minutes at McKenzie Arena.
Still hanging tough right up until the very end of the game, the Mocs would actually outscored the Owls in the fourth quarter, 12-11, taking a small victory into the locker room after a tough day of basketball for UTC. With a final score of 64-42, the Mocs dropped their third consecutive non-conference matchup as the 2024 calendar reaches its final few weeks.
True freshman Gianna Corbitt led the way for the Mocs in the game, dropping a career-high 14 points while adding a team-leading nine rebounds, one shy of her first collegiate double-double. Corbitt would also lead the Mocs in blocks, finishing with two.
Karsen Murphy also finished as a double-digit scorer, adding 11 points, nine of which came from three-point range. Sigrun Olafsdottir ended her day with a team-high three steals in the loss. She, alongside Caia Elisaldez and Brooke Anya, finished tied for the team-high in assists with two.
FROM THE HEAD COACH | QUOTES
On the play of Caia Elisaldez.
"Right now, I'm asking a lot of Caia, and that's a very tough role to have. And right now, we're running a lot of our offense through Caia, a lot of our defense through Caia. She's having to play like, 40 minutes a game a lot of the time. And, you know, I think that to see her go down, you know, it kind of takes a gasp from everybody on the on the bench, from all of us, because we know how much she means to us and how much she means to our team. And I feel like she's tough as nails. And, you know, she wants to be out there, and she's like, you know, I want to go in, but I think that she's, such an important piece to what we're trying to do, and so seeing that was a little bit of a gut check, and I'm glad she's okay, and, you know, I'm glad she was able to finish out."
TOP TAKEAWAYS | NOTES
- This marked the seventh meeting all-time between Chattanooga and Kennesaw State.
- The series now stands at 4-3 in favor of UTC.
- The Mocs had won their past two meetings with the Owls prior to Sunday.
- Chattanooga was undefeated at home against Kennesaw State until Sunday. The Mocs now stand 3-1 when hosting the Owls.
- The Mocs were held to 16 points in the first half, the team's lowest scoring half this season.
- This included UTC only scoring six points in the second quarter.
- This marked the lowest scoring second quarter of the season for the Mocs, as well as the second-lowest scoring quarter overall for Chattanooga this year.
- UTC was ultimately held to just 42 total points. This marks the lowest scoring game for Chattanooga since scoring just 33 points against Virginia Tech on March 17, 2023 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
- The Owls out-scored the Mocs in the paint 48-16.
- Both teams finished the game with 18 turnovers a piece.
UP NEXT: BELLARMINE
The Mocs will now hit the road for a trip up to Louisville, Kentucky, this Thursday, December 12 with UTC slated to take on Bellarmine (7-2). Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET and fans can tune into either streaming on ESPN+ and over the radio on WFLI 104.3 FM or The Varsity app.
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