Bellarmine Hits Two Treys in Final 7 Seconds to Beat UTC 67-66
(gomocs.com) LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Chattanooga women’s basketball dropped what could only be described as a heartbreaker on Thursday night in Louisville, with the Mocs losing to Bellarmine 67-66.
The Mocs controlled most of the second half behind a double-double performance from Gianna Corbitt, but two last second three-pointers by the Knights proved fatal as the Mocs were left stunned in a one-point defeat at Knights Hall.
“I’m really gutted for our team,” head coach Deandra Schirmer said. “Our team has been hit by a lot of adversity, and they haven’t flinched. They’re coming out, they’re showing up, and we’re fighting and fighting hard.
Our group is so close, and I’m just gutted for our group. I thought they did everything to deserve this win tonight and when they battle like that and we’re making big shots and making big plays, as a coach you just want to find a way to win it for them. When the game is decided on the other side of the court and you have no timeouts left, it’s just tough.”
Bellarmine opened their night connecting on three-pointers and forcing turnovers out of the Mocs, as the Knights grabbed the lead and held it over the entire duration of the first quarter. Trailing 19-14 at the first quarter break, UTC needed to flip a switch heading into the second.
The Mocs would get the run they needed at the midway point of the frame, going on a 12-0 scoring run thanks in large part to the efforts of Sigrun Olafsdottir and Kailyn Farrell, to name a couple. This run by the Mocs helped give UTC its first lead of the night at the 2:55 mark of the quarter, with Chattanooga jumping ahead 26-24 on the Knights.
The teams would proceed to exchange leads to close out the half, and it was a three-pointer by Farrell with just 0:19 to go that helped the Mocs take a narrow 31-30 advantage into the halftime break. Olafsdottir closed out her first half with 11 of her eventual 13 points scored on the night, going a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor and 3-for-3 from three-point range over the opening 20 minutes.
To start the second half, Chattanooga turned up the heat on the Knights by opening the third quarter with a 13-5 scoring run to put the Mocs up 44-35 with 4:43 left in the frame. UTC would eventually bump that up to double-digits for a brief moment before Bellarmine would cut their deficit back down to nine at the end of the third quarter. Leading 51-42, the Mocs looked to be in control.
From the start of the fourth quarter, Bellarmine rolled out a full court press to which the Mocs had no answer for. Numerous UTC turnovers allowed the Knights to cut into Chattanooga’s lead, and finally aat the 3:16 mark of the fourth Bellarmine would jump back ahead 56-55.
While the Knights continued to hang around, clutch free throws from Gianna Corbitt and Sigrun Olafsdottir helped the Mocs put some distance between themselves and Bellarmine. With only eight seconds remaining, UTC had all but won the game with the Mocs holding a 66-61 lead.
However, a quick three-pointer from Bellarmine’s Erin Toller cut into that lead, and a UTC turnover on the following inbounds play gave the Knights the ball with just three seconds left on the clock. One last circus heave from Toller found the bottom of the night, giving Bellarmine a 67-66 win over a stunned Mocs team.
The efforts of freshman Gianna Corbitt wouldn’t go unnoticed for the Mocs, as Corbitt would log her first career double-double after leading the team in points (16) and rebounds (10). Kailyn Farrel also added 10 points of her own, notching a new UTC career-high for herself in the process.
FROM THE HEAD COACH |
On Bellarmine’s Erin Toller hitting those last two three-pointers to win it.
“Hats off to her, that was a hell of a shot to win the game. That’s the game of basketball. That’s the game we sign up for. As heartbreaking as it is on this end, I’m sure we’re gonna have some heartwarming wins on the other side. As a coach, you know you’re gonna have those ebs and flows, and it feels like right now we’re taking a lot of punches. We really wanted this for our group to really be able to get a confidence boost. To lose it in the way that we did and for it to be as heartbreaking as it was, I really feel like we’re going to need to see the big picture. The big picture is we didn’t lose the season tonight on a game winner. It feels like it, and it really feels like it losing four in a row. I have to check myself as well. But the best teams don’t get too high and they don’t get too low. Going into this game I was trying to get our team motivated where hey, we’ve got it with what we’ve got, and I think they gave me everything they had in that game. I just wish we could’ve came out on top for them.”
“Hats off to her, that was a hell of a shot to win the game. That’s the game of basketball. That’s the game we sign up for. As heartbreaking as it is on this end, I’m sure we’re gonna have some heartwarming wins on the other side. As a coach, you know you’re gonna have those ebs and flows, and it feels like right now we’re taking a lot of punches. We really wanted this for our group to really be able to get a confidence boost. To lose it in the way that we did and for it to be as heartbreaking as it was, I really feel like we’re going to need to see the big picture. The big picture is we didn’t lose the season tonight on a game winner. It feels like it, and it really feels like it losing four in a row. I have to check myself as well. But the best teams don’t get too high and they don’t get too low. Going into this game I was trying to get our team motivated where hey, we’ve got it with what we’ve got, and I think they gave me everything they had in that game. I just wish we could’ve came out on top for them.”
