Mocs Women Triumph in WNIT Opener

GoMocs-The Chattanooga Mocs earned a hard-fought 53-49 decision against visiting Alabama A&M in the opening round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament in McKenzie Arena Saturday. Gianna Corbitt led all scorers with a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds.

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.