The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team lost 68-54 to Austin Peay on Thursday night at McKenzie Arena, with the Mocs’ third straight defeat dropping them to 2-4.
The Mocs, who never led in the contest, trailed by as many as 15 points and struggled on both ends of the court — just as they had four days earlier in a 79-66 home loss to the University of Alabama at Birmingham
Gianna Corbitt scored 18 points to lead the Mocs, while Kalifa Ford added 13 as the only other player in double figures for the hosts. UTC’s starting backcourt of Caia Elisaldez and Izzy McPherson went a combined 0-for-10 from the field and committed four turnovers, with McPherson missing all seven of her 3-point tries.
“We’re just staying together, working on things all day, every day in practice, but trusting our coaching staff that they’ll put us in the right positions and put the right plays that we need and just continue to work on it,” Corbitt said. “We trust each other, we trust our coaching staff and ultimately leaning on the returners as far as knowing the offense and just guiding the newcomers where to go, but we’ll get it.”
Austin Peay (3-1), the Atlantic Sun Conference program from Clarksville, also had just two players in double figures — Jim’Miyah Branton with 14 points and Anovia Sheals with 11 — but four others scored at least seven for the Governors, who led 16-12, 34-22 and 47-40 at the quarter breaks.
The Southern Conference’s Mocs are back in action Saturday at McKenzie Arena, facing Northern Kentucky (1-4) in the first game of a doubleheader. The UTC men (2-3) will follow by hosting North Alabama (2-3) as part of the ASUN/SoCon challenge.
UTC vs. Austin Peay women’s basketball on Nov. 20, 2025
Here are three storylines from Thursday’s game.
Out of sorts: UTC looked slow against the Govs, and that showed up in the stats that mattered. Austin Peay forced 16 turnovers, and while those weren’t always converted into points, they at least prevented the Mocs from scoring on those sequences. The Govs had 34 points in the paint to UTC’s 18, had a two-point edge in second-chance points, a 14-5 advantage in fast-break points and got 33 points from their bench. They also outrebounded UTC 32-19. Simply put, they outplayed the Mocs.
Defensive lapses: UTC’s defense has been struggling this season, especially when you compare it to last season’s team, and Thursday was more of the same. While the Govs, whose only loss so far is by 10 points to Southeastern Conference member Vanderbilt, are a much improved team, they also entered the night shooting 28% from 3-point range — and UTC allowed them to shoot 6-for-14, mostly on uncontested looks.
No offensive flow: Austin Peay gave the Mocs enough chances to hang around — the Govs had 21 turnovers — but it didn’t matter because UTC struggled against the constant pressure, which led to rushed shots, 16 turnovers of its own and shooting just 36% from the field. When Elisaldez doesn’t make a shot from the field, you know it’s going to be a struggle for the Mocs — and it was.
“I feel like right now we’re trying to find our identity as a team and it’s very, very evident in these games where we’re trying to look at a lot of different lineups,” UTC second-year head coach Deandra Schirmer said. “We’re trying to look at a lot of different things to try and get us a boost, when in reality we’ve got to play better defense.
“As a coach, this is one of those games where you sit and stew over it and you figure out, ‘OK, where are we going from here?’ If there’s one thing I know about this staff, we’re going to figure it out. We just haven’t done it yet.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.