CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Mocs Women's Basketball team won an exciting matchup over Northern Kentucky by a score of 64-62 on Saturday in the Roundhouse to end a three-game losing skid. With Chattanooga (3-4) down by one and just 29 seconds left, a clutch 3-pointer by Izzy McPherson proved to be the decider. 

With the win, Chattanooga moves to 4-3 all-time against Northern Kentucky (1-5), and now have won three consecutive in the series. It's the second win this year, that Chattanooga has won despite trailing in the final two minutes. The other is a 59-56 win at Lipscomb on November 9.

The Mocs defense was rock solid in the opening seven minutes, holding the Norse to just two points as they led 11-2. Chattanooga forced five turnovers during this run. For the remainder of the period, the Norse weathered the storm to cut the lead to six at 17-11 with a buzzer-beater lay-in. 

Chattanooga was scoreless for just over two minutes to begin the second period before a pair made shots by Gianna Corbitt, one being a 3-pointer, put it back in rhythm. Later on, baskets from Ava Card and Corbitt pushed the Mocs lead back to six at 26-20 with 4:39 remaining in the quarter. 

Corbitt drained another triple at the 1:12 mark to put the score at 29-23, which is what it would read as the two teams went to halftime. The sophomore from Oakland Park, Florida scored 10 of Chattanooga's 12 points in the quarter. 

A Sarah Owona 3-pointer on the Mocs' opening possession of the third quarter got the fans excited, but the Norse responded in a big way. An 11-0 run across nearly four minutes pushed the away side in front for the first time all afternoon. 

The Norse pushed its lead all the way to eight points at the 2:22 mark, but a late run by Chattanooga capped off by a buzzer-beater, coast-to-coast, lay-in by Caia Elisaldez put it within two points at 47-45 with 10 minutes left to play. 

Northern Kentucky led by as many as seven points in the final frame, but the gritty Mocs group kept fighting. An 8-0 run by the home side with five points from Elisaldez put it back in the lead. 

As the clock dwindled down, the two sides went back-and-forth as Northern Kentucky led by one point with under a minute remaining. On the ensuing possession, Chattanooga had a baseline out-of-bounds play, where McPherson snuck her way into the corner right in front of her bench and buried a triple, which ended up being the game winner. It was her first make from the field in nearly two games. 

Northern Kentucky got two shots off in their final possession, but neither one dropped as the Mocs earned the 64-62 win. 

Corbitt scored a game-high 18 points to lead the way for the Mocs while Elisaldez posted a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 assists. Kalifa Ford was also in double-digits in scoring for Chattanooga with 10 points and six rebounds. 

Chattanooga's defense forced a season-high 24 turnovers in the win. Offensively, the Mocs shot 39.7% (23-58) from the field. For the second game in a row, Chattanooga made seven triples, which ties a season-high.

Quotes:
I feel like it's no secret to our players, our fans, to all of our supporters, that we really needed this one," said Head Coach Deandra Schirmer. "We've had a lot of games where we're figuring it out and it hasn't come out on the right end of it. And we've talked a lot about as a staff on finding the grace to let them grow and learn and have their own process to it."

"I couldn't be more proud as the defensive coach. You know, we want to be on defense to get the stop, to win the game," Schirmer said. "I am just really proud of this group and their resiliency because, you know, we were on a three-game losing streak and it was a quick turnaround. We played on Thursday. We had one day of prep and this team showed me something today, and that's we're going to be exactly where we want to be come tournament time because they have what it takes to be champions."

"It felt really good for my confidence just to be able to hit that shot for my teammates and just to seal out the game like that felt great," McPherson said. 

UP NEXT: Chattanooga travels to Southern California for two games beginning on November 28 against Sacramento State. 

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