Troy Defeats UTC 76-66
(gomocs.com) CHATTANOOGA — Chattanooga women’s basketball dropped a 76-66 result to Troy on Thursday night in the Roundhouse, as the physical Trojans side proved too much in the long run for the Mocs.
A slow start from the Mocs (2-2) proved the difference as the Trojans (1-3) were able to pull out to a 21-3 advantage on UTC over the opening seven minutes of action. While the Mocs hung with Troy for the remainder of the night, even cutting the lead down to as little as four at one point, it was too little too late as Troy emerged victorious in a physical battle with the Mocs.
“I feel like we knew this was going to be a dogfight,” head coach Deandra Schirmer said. “I have a lot of respect for Troy and the program that coach has built over there. They were ranked top 15 in the mid major poll at the beginning of the year for a reason.
“They’re very physical. I feel like we did a lot of preparation going into this game, but you don’t really know what it’s like until you get into it, so it took us a little bit in the first quarter to kind of figure out what the physicality looked like, what that quickness looked like, and by the time we adjusted, it was too late.”
Following a Caia Elisaldez three-pointer saw the scoreboard reading 4-3 in favor of Troy at the 8:49 mark of the first quarter, it was all Trojans in the remainder of the frame as Troy would string together 17 unanswered points to help build a 21-3 lead on the Mocs.
Despite the ugly start to the night, the Mocs remained steadfast and together with UTC using the remainder of the first half to regain their footing an inch back into the contest. Heading into the halftime locker room down 44-33, there was some work to be done in the second half for Chattanooga.
It was Chattanooga’s bench players that would help provide a much-needed spark to the offense, as the collective of Ava Card, Frode Flos van der Schans and Kailyn Farrell helped the Mocs cut Troy’s lead down to 54-49 at the 1:09 mark of the third. While the Trojans finished the quarter on a nigh note, pumping their lead back up to 56-49 at the end of the frame, the Mocs could feel that they weren’t out of the game yet.
Leaving it all out on the floor, the starting duo of Sigrun Olafsdottir and Caia Elisaldez threw everything they had at the Trojan lineup. A three from Olafsdottir with 5:22 left in the game cut Troy’s lead right back down to 58-54, but unfortunately for the Mocs, that would be the closest they would come to completing the comeback.
Even with the late run by UTC, the Trojans were able to fend off the Mocs to secure a 76-66 win over Chattanooga on the night.
Caia Elisaldez would finish with a career-high and team-high 15 points on the evening. She was followed closely by Olafsdottir’s 13 points. The Iceland native added a team-best nine boards, yet another career-high for the Mocs in the game. She also wrapped up her night with a five-steal performance, a season-high for the reigning Southern Conference All-Defensive Team honoree.
FROM THE HEAD COACH |
On the team’s resilience down the stretch.
” Credit to our team, I’m proud of them for how they fought back for us to win the following three quarters. I think this group is very resilient, but we also have to be focused and locked in. You can’t just have, you know, fight and resiliency. You also have to have a preparedness. You also have to have an ability to come out in a game and do it from the tip, and that’s what we’ve been talking about a lot in practice. As a coach, we’re trying to go with our offensive lineup a little bit to try and get points and try to close that gap. But as far as you know, facing a team like that this early, it’s only going to make us better down the stretch. I think there’s going to be a lot of moments in film that we’re going to be able to go back and watch, and we’re going to be able to get better as a team because of this game.”
” Credit to our team, I’m proud of them for how they fought back for us to win the following three quarters. I think this group is very resilient, but we also have to be focused and locked in. You can’t just have, you know, fight and resiliency. You also have to have a preparedness. You also have to have an ability to come out in a game and do it from the tip, and that’s what we’ve been talking about a lot in practice. As a coach, we’re trying to go with our offensive lineup a little bit to try and get points and try to close that gap. But as far as you know, facing a team like that this early, it’s only going to make us better down the stretch. I think there’s going to be a lot of moments in film that we’re going to be able to go back and watch, and we’re going to be able to get better as a team because of this game.”
TOP TAKEAWAYS |
– Tonight marked the seventh all-time meeting between Chattanooga and Troy.
– The series now stands at 4-3 in favor of the Trojans.
– The series now stands at 4-3 in favor of the Trojans.
– Chattanooga’s last win against Troy came on Dec. 12, 2002 in the Scenic City (Mocs won 59-58).
– UTC gave up 24 points to Troy in the first quarter, the highest-scoring quarter against the Mocs since UNC Asheville score 24 back on Nov. 23, 2022.
– Chattanooga saw 30 of their 66 points (46 percent) come from off the bench.
– Caia Elisaldez led the team with a career-high tying 15 points on the night. It’s her first time leading the team in scoring this season and third time scoring 10+ points this season.
– Sigrun Olafsdottir ended the night with 13 points, including tying her career-high for three-pointers made in a game with four.
UP NEXT: MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Mocs will now hit the road to take on SEC foe Mississippi State, who is currently receiving votes in the latest iteration of the AP Top 25 poll, on Sunday, November 17. UTC won last year’s matchup against the then-Top 25 ranked Bulldogs, downing MSU 59-53 in McKenzie Arena. Sunday’s game against Mississippi State is slated for a 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT) tip and will be available to stream via ESPN+ or SEC Network+.
