CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Mocs Women's Basketball team fell on Thursday night inside the Roundhouse 68-54 in the first of two homes games over the next three days.

The Mocs (2-4) never had a lead in the game as the Govs (3-1) either led or the game was tied from start to finish. The loss moves Chattanooga to 34-10 all-time against Austin Peay. The Mocs have lost three in a row to the Govs when the game is played inside McKenzie Arena.

After just over two minutes of scoreless basketball to begin the night, Gianna Corbitt got the Mocs on the board with a successful jumper. As the quarter went on, Austin Peay was the team that was efficient from the field, shooting 63.6% (7-11), as it took a 16-12 lead after one quarter.

A 3-pointer from Kalifa Ford, cut the lead to one point at the 7:54 mark in the second quarter. However, the Govs responded with a pair of triples themselves to go up 26-19. For the remaining six minutes of the quarter, Austin Peay outscored Chattanooga 8-3, as it took a double-digit lead of 34-22 into the locker room.

A quick 3-pointer from Ford followed by a fast-break lay-in by Gianna Corbitt put the Mocs back within seven points just over a minute into the third quarter, leading to an Austin Peay timeout. The hot start continued on for a few more minutes as a 3-pointer from Ava Card capped off a 14-2 Chattanooga run to tie the game at 36 at the 6:13 mark of the quarter.

For the remainder of the third quarter, Chattanooga only scored by way of the free-throw line, where it made four. This cold run offensively, allowed the Govs to move back ahead 47-40 going into the final frame.

Austin Peay continued to stop the Chattanooga offensive attack as the fourth quarter began, holding the home side to two points inside the first five minutes, extending its lead to 57-42. With 1:50 remaining in the game, Chattanooga had got back within 10 points, however 30 seconds afterwards, a dagger corner triple off an out-of-bounds play for Austin Peay all but ended things.

QUOTE:
"Right now we're trying to find our identity as a team," said Head Coach Deandra Schirmer. "…There's one thing I know about this group, and there is one thing I know about this staff though, we're going to figure it out. We just haven't done it yet."

Individual Performances:

• Corbitt led the Mocs in scoring with a game-high 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting and a perfect 6-of-6 at the free-throw line. She also had three assists and two blocks.
• Ford was Chattanooga's lone other scorer in double-digits with 13 points and four assists.
• Jim'Miyah Branton with 14 points and Anovia Sheals with 11 points led the Governors in scoring.

In the team box score, Austin Peay had an advantage in field goal percentage, making 52.1% (25-48) off its shot attempts while Chattanooga shot 36.2% from the field. The away side won the rebound battle 32-19.

UP NEXT: Chattanooga finishes the final game of a three-game home stretch on Saturday against Northern Kentucky at 2 p.m.

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