Chattanooga women's basketball lost a heartbreaker on Thursday night in Spartanburg, with the Mocs coming up just short in a 57-54 defeat to first-place Wofford at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
The Mocs (9-10, 4-2 SoCon) had their sights set on grabbing a share of first place in the SoCon with a victory over the league-leading Terriers (14-5, 6-0 SoCon), but shooting woes from three-point range proved the difference as UTC came up just short in the end.
"I think that this is a game that we're going to reference later on and really look back on as an important game for us in this season, specifically on our hunt for a conference championship," head coach Deandra Schirmer said. "And I feel like obviously it wasn't the result that we wanted, but if we can lock in and we can learn from our mistakes and understand that coming into this game, we're seeing Wofford blowing out teams left, right and center, and for me, it just verifies what we are, what we thought we are.
"We're going to be a top team in this conference. So now, let's keep the fire that's in our stomachs and however mad I am right now about the loss, I'm channeling that into these next couple games because we have everything we need."
UTC's defense came out of the gate ready for the challenge, as the Mocs locked down an otherwise threatening Wofford offense right from the opening tip.
Sigrun Olafsdottir broke through first in the game, connecting on a three to give the Mocs a 3-0 lead early-on in the night. As the teams tangled back and forth over the remainder of the first quarter, a Gianna Corbitt offensive rebound and putback helped put Chattanooga ahead 13-12 right before the frame came to its end.
The Mocs and Terriers continued to exchange blows through the second as neither team gave an inch to the other. While Wofford was able to build up a 30-24 advantage with 2:22 left to play in the half, that lead quickly evaporated following three-pointers on back-to-back possessions for UTC.
Some late free throws falling for Caia Elisaldez pushed the Mocs in front right before the teams made their way to the locker rooms. Leading 34-32, the Mocs were looking to play spoiler to the Terriers' undefeated SoCon season.
The second half proved to be just as much of a knockdown, drag out fight between the two squads.
Much like the previous two quarters, the third quarter saw the two sides trading leads over nearly the entire 10 minutes of action. And once again, just like the first and second quarters, a late score by UTC gave the Mocs a lead heading into the quarter break as Elisaldez converted from the charity stripe to give Chattanooga a narrow 42-41 lead heading into the fourth.
The Mocs continued to exchange leads with the Terriers before an 8-0 scoring run by Wofford suddenly saw UTC trailing 54-48 with 3:35 left in the game. Remaining calm, the Mocs found ways to score to keep their hopes of victory alive.
A late and-one conversion from Ava Card followed by another basket by the freshman put the Mocs into striking position as Wofford now only held a 55-54 lead with 1:01 remaining on the clock. A clutch basket by Wofford would push the Terrier lead back up to three with 0:31 left to play.
The Mocs then had their share of opportunities to tie the game, as offensive rebounds, jump balls and missed free throws by Wofford ended up giving UTC four different chances to tie the game from three-point range. Those hail mary shots wouldn't find the bottom of the net, however, as time ran out on Chattanooga's hopes of coming back with the Terriers taking a 57-54 win when all was said and done.
Caia Elisaldez tied her career-high of 21 points in the loss, leading the way for the Mocs in the scoring department while also logging a team-high four assists. Sigrun Olafsdottir also added 12 points for UTC paired with a team-leading four steals.
Gianna Corbitt saw her double-double streak snapped, but only just barely as the freshman ended her night with nine points alongside a team-high eight boards. Corbitt also added three steals and a block on the defensive side of the ball for the Mocs. Brooke Anya rounded out Chattanooga's stat leaders, finishing with a team-high two blocks.
Chattanooga now heads to Greenville, South Carolina, to take on the fifth-place Furman Paladins this Saturday, February 1 at 2 p.m. ET. The Mocs will be looking to extend what is a one-game lead between themselves and fourth-place ETSU, and a win over Furman would do just that and the Mocs remain only one game back from second-place UNCG. Saturday's game, which will be played at North Greenville, can be caught on ESPN+ or over the radio on WFLI 104.3 or via The Varsity app.