MACON, Ga. --- Chattanooga women's basketball absolutely steamrolled its way to a win on Thursday night in Macon, Georgia, as the Mocs picked apart Mercer enroute to a 69-39 blowout victory over the Bears.
From the word go, the Mocs (12-11, 7-3 SoCon) had their foot on the gas and didn't let off as UTC picked up its second-straight wire-to-wire win and fourth wire-to-wire win of the season over the Bears (7-16, 2-6 SoCon) to maintain Chattanooga's spot in third in the conference.
"I think we put three good quarters of basketball out there, but I'm pretty upset about how we finished the fourth quarter," head coach Deandra Schirmer said. "We talked about at this point in the season, it's all about how much better can we get before the conference tournament. One thing I think is very important to realize is in the conference tournament, it's win or go home, and you've gotta play all 40 minutes. These teams are playing for their livelihoods, and you can't have a lapse.
"We talked about it at halftime, we wanted to come out strong and we put up a 19-6 run in the third quarter, which I'm really proud of. But also, we were able to work on some things that we needed. I thought our posts played well offensively tonight. Brooke (Anya) was able to get going, Flo (van der Schans) played well, and being able to develop that bench and play well in the third, I was proud of that effort."
Right from the jump, UTC's defense made an immediate impact as the Mocs shut Mercer's offense down. Not only that, but a three-headed attack from Caia Elisaldez, Sigrun Olafsdottir and Karsen Murphy quickly put Chattanooga ahead 15-6 at the end of the first quarter.
A short scoring spurt by the Bears would cut that Chattanooga advantage down to 15-11 at the 8:26 mark of the second quarter, but that would be the last time the Mocs would let their foot off the gas in the game.
Once again relying on Elisaldez and Olafsdottir's scoring, as well as true freshman Gianna Corbitt supplying some offense of her own, the Mocs built their lead all the way back up to 33-17 come the halftime break in Macon.
The Mocs then caught fire to kick off the second half, with UTC opening the third quarter on a 19-4 scoring run to give Chattanooga its largest lead of the evening at the 2:22 mark of the frame. Now leading 52-21, the Mocs were looking to pack up shop and head out of town with a statement victory.
After trading some buckets with the Bears in the fourth, the Mocs were able to do just that as Chattanooga ended up taking down Mercer with a convincing 69-39 scoreline to hang the team's hat on.
Caia Elisaldez did what she always does, dazzling on offense and scoring a team-high 21 points in the win. The sophomore has now recorded four 20+ point games this season, all of which have come in SoCon play for the Mocs.
Freshman Gianna Corbitt also proved to be a rock for UTC, as the Oakland Park, Florida, native ended up logging her fifth career double-double after scoring 13 points paired with a team-high 12 rebounds. Her five rebounds this season are more than all of the other freshmen in the SoCon have combined (2).
One performance that must be mentioned for the Mocs is that of senior Karsen Murphy, who ended her night with 12 points and team-highs for steals (3) and blocks (1). While her numbers may not necessarily jump off the page initially, her plus/minus certainly does as the Glendive, Montana, native wrapped up the evening by finishing a staggering +40 on the night.
FROM THE HEAD COACH | QUOTES
On play in the second half from a bigger picture.
"I think that, in the first half, towards the end, we started cruising a little bit because we had a lead. I told them, we're not just punching the clock, we have an opportunity to get better. Flo looked good, Brooke played good minutes and we're really starting to look good from the group that we have and I'm standing here feeling like a proud parent. We've gotta develop off the bench, but a lot of good individual performances and we're starting to play to our potential."
TOP TAKEAWAYS | NOTES
- This marked the 36th meeting between Chattanooga and Mercer.
- The Mocs now lead the all-time series 25-11.
- UTC is now 10-7 when playing the Bears in Macon.
- UTC has won its last seven meetings with the Bears dating back to a Feb. 3, 2022 loss (MER won 59-53).
- The last time Chattanooga lost to the Bears in Macon came on Jan. 8, 2022 (MER won 69-52).
- Coach Schirmer went with the following starting five: Elisaldez, Olafsdottir, Murphy, Corbitt, Anya.
- The Mocs are now 9-6 this season when playing that starting lineup.
- Chattanooga currently holds the longest active streak in the entire NCAA when it comes to consecutive games with a made three-pointer.
- Dating back to December 1999, UTC has made a three-pointer in 799 straight games.
- The Mocs shots 47 percent (27-for-57) from the floor.
- UTC won the turnover battle, forcing 15 out of the Bears while only committing 11.
- This led the Mocs to out-score the Bears 19-4 in points off turnovers.
- Chattanooga out-rebounded Mercer 38-23 (+15).
- It marks UTC's largest rebounding margin since finishing +24 (49-25) against Salem back on Dec. 21, 2024.
- UTC ended up grabbing 11 offensive boards compared to Mercer's three.
- The Mocs scored 40 points in the paint on the Bears, while Mercer only finished with 22 in the paint.
- UTC also out-scored Mercer in fast break points (15-8) and second chance points (8-4).
- The Mocs did not trail in this game and led for a total of 39:18 of the game.
- This marks the fourth wire-to-wire victory of the season and second consecutive this year (won wire-to-wire against WCU last Saturday).
UP NEXT: SAMFORD
Chattanooga now heads to Birmingham to close out a weekend on the road by taking on Samford this Saturday, February 15, at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT). The game between the Mocs and the Bulldogs can be caught on ESPN+ or over the radio on WFLI 96.1 FM/100.3 FM/1070 AM or The Varsity app.
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