BOX SCORE | SEASON STATS | WNIT BRACKET | PHOTO GALLERY

CHATTANOOGA --- The Chattanooga women's basketball team earned a hard-fought 53-49 decision against visiting Alabama A&M in the opening round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in McKenzie Arena on Saturday on the back of a career night by freshman Gianna Corbitt.

With the win, the Mocs now advance to play Troy on Monday, March 24 on the road in the Second Round of the WNIT. That game will be a rematch from a game earlier this season that took place back on Nov. 14 at the Roundhouse and resulted in a 76-66 win by the Trojans. That game is set to be played at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) in Troy, Alabama, and will be available to stream on ESPN+.

GAME RECAP
It was a slow start to the night by UTC as Alabama A&M would open the night on a 6-0 scoring run. The Mocs slowly bu surely crawled their way back into the game over the course of the first quarter, and eventually Frode Flos van der Schans gave the Mocs their first lead of the night at the 1:35 mark of the frame, putting UTC up 14-12.

Over the course of the second neither team was really able to gain an inch on the other, that was until a late flurry of buckets gave Chattanooga a 29-23 advantage heading into the halftime break.

The Bulldogs remained a thorn in UTC's side throughout the third quarter, and with a late flurry of their own the Mocs held just a slight, 39-38 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of action at the Roundhouse. It was at this point that Chattanooga was able to turn to its young start, Gianna Corbitt, to carry the load.

The Mocs led by seven, 45-38, with 7:05 to go on a Corbitt put back. The Bulldogs answered with nine unanswered points to take the lead at 3:45 on Alisha Wilson's turnaround in the paint. The run continued 11-0 before Corbitt's layup with 2:10 remaining cur the deficit to 49-47.
 
Corbitt knotted the score at 49-all on the next possession with another layup. The defense got another stop forcing a shot clock violation at the 1:02 mark. The Bulldogs got a steal but a mishandle on the drive led to another turnover adding to the drama with 48.5 seconds on the clock.
 
Corbitt stepped to the line at 39.7 to put the Mocs back in front with two free throws. The Mocs defense went right back to lockdown mode forcing another shot clock violation with 8.5 ticks to go. Coach Deandra Schirmer called timeout and advanced the ball to midcourt. The Sigrun Olafsdottir inbound pass went to Corbitt who put the cherry on top with two free throws to complete the final tally.
 
RECORDS – Chattanooga 17-14 | Alabama A&M 21-11

POSTGAME QUOTES | MORE
Deandra Schirmer, Head Coach
On the win over Alabama A&M.
"I love March. I love the games in March. I love the energy. We just played a really talented Alabama A&M team that gave us everything they had, and it wouldn't be March if we didn't make it close. But to play in a really tough, close game, our last game out and not get it done, it feels great to show the other side of it and be on the other side of that and win the game. I think that we now know who we are as a team. We know our identity, and you're seeing how well we play together. I think that the poise and the composure of our group when we had two minutes and 30 seconds left, and we were down by four, for us to come together, get stops; for our defense really to come up and then for us to have great execution down the stretch, hit some big free throws, I'm really proud of our group and our execution. 

Gianna Corbitt, Fr., F
On what was going through her head from start to finish.
"Just take it one stop at a time and go on transition. We had mishaps and things that happened, but we can't really control that. Coach always preaches composure and poise, and that's what we had to do with it at the end of the day. We had to be tougher than them."
 
INSIDE THE BOX – Chattanooga 53, Alabama A&M 49
Scoring Leaders – UTC: 27-Gianna Corbitt | AAMU: 13-Alisha Wilson
Rebounding Leaders – UTC: 11-Corbitt | AAMU: 14-Wilson
Assist Leaders – UTC: 7-Caia Elisaldez | AAMU: 3-Jayah Harris-Smith
Largest Leads – UTC: 7 (45-38, 7:05 4th) | AAMU: 6 (8-2, 8:05 1st)
Lead Changes: 7 | Times Tied: 7

• Cold shooting night both ways with the Mocs making 36.2 percent (21-58) and the Bulldogs at 32.2 percent (19-59).
• The Mocs limited A&M to 1-13 beyond the arc.
• +13 rebounding margin (44-31) is the 5th-largest of the season and most since 15 at Mercer.
• Despite the shooting percentage, the Mocs assisted on 13 of 21 field goals made (61.9%).
• The 11-0 run for the Bulldogs came over 4:55. Chattanooga allowed just 38 points over the remaining 35:05 of clock time.

 
WNIT HISTORY

• 7th appearance in the WNIT. Last bid was 2020 which was cancelled by COVID.
• 5-6 all-time.
• Last win was in the 2005 first round, 50-40 over Villanova.
• The 1984 squad reached the finals of the 1984 WNIT losing a 67-66 thriller to Vanderbilt.

 
SERIES HISTORY
Meetings: 3
Record: 2-1
In Chattanooga: 2-0
Postseason: 1-0
 
NOTES TO KNOW | MORE

• Coach Deandra Schirmer joined Sharon Fanning-Otis and Wes Moore as the only Mocs head women's basketball coaches to win a postseason tournament game.
• Chattanooga entered the contest No. 21 nationally in scoring defense (55.9 ppg). Bulldogs scored 49 today. 9th opponent held to 50 points or fewer in 2024-25.
• First win this season when trailing with 2:00 to go in the contest. Now 1-11. Trailed 49-45 when the clock struck two (or 120).
• Corbitt's 27-point performance was not only her first 20-point effort but also a season high by a Moc.
• Corbitt went 10-13 from the field and a perfect 3-3 from 3pt range. Tied Karsen Murphy for best 3pt percentage in a game this season.
• Renaming this the Gianna Corbitt story…7th double figure rebounding night.
• Team tied a season high with six blocks led by two each by Murphy and who else, Corbitt.
• Seventh game this season with seven or more assists for Elisaldez. She has eight in her career.

 
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