University of Tennessee at Chattanooga guard Caia Elisaldez made two free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining to lift the Mocs to a 59-57 win over Sacramento State on Friday, the first game in two days for each at the four-team CBU Classic in Riverside, California.
The Mocs (4-4) will play in the event’s title game at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, taking on the University of California Santa Barbara (5-1). UCSB was a 74-49 winner in Friday’s other semifinal against host California Baptist University (5-1), which will face Sacramento State (5-3) in the consolation game.
UTC and the Hornets were tied at 57 after Keanna Salave’a banked in a 3-pointer for Sacramento State with four seconds to play, but Elisaldez sprinted upcourt and was fouled attempting a last-second heave at the buzzer. She hit the first free throw, missed the second, hit the third, and then teammate Gianna Corbitt tipped a pass and prevented the Hornets from getting a good look.
Elisaldez, a 5-foot-5 junior, had 21 points for the Mocs as she returned to her home state and to the school (CBU) where her mom, Tiffany Sasad, was a letter winner in basketball. Kalifa Ford added 18 points for UTC, while Corbitt had 12 points and nine rebounds.
“I can’t even begin to explain how good it felt to see everyone here,” Elisaldez said. “People that haven’t seen me play, a lot of my family hasn’t been able to come out ot Chattanooga, so for everyone to be here, it really meant the world to me to play here. I think the tears say a lot, but I can’t even begin to explain what it means to me right now.”
Sacramento State got 19 points from Rubi Gray and 11 each from Natatlie Picton and Salave’a, who grabbed eight rebounds.
Here are three storylines from UTC’s win.
Playmaking: The ball didn’t move an awful lot in the second half of the game, and as it turns out, maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. The Mocs had one assist in the final 20 minutes, but they had just four turnovers compared to 11 in the first half. All of UTC’s scoring came from the five starters (Falon Bedke had five points, while Sarah Owona hit a 3-pointer for her only points), but a lot of what the Mocs did offensively was use the attacking abilities of Corbitt, Elisaldez and Ford to get to the basket and score as the three combined for 30 of the team’s 35 points in the second half.
Bedke’s best asset: The Mocs’ primary post player doesn’t offer much on offense, but her value comes on the other end of the court, where she may already be the team’s best defender. The 6-2 junior drew eight fouls, grabbed five rebounds, and her rotations on the court made life difficult for the taller Hornets.
Second-half defense: Some wins are about toughness, and the second-half performance for the Mocs — who trailed 32-24 at the break — was about toughness. They didn’t shoot it great, but they got back in the game because UTC limited the Hornets to 8-for-27 from the field in the final 20 minutes. They outrebounded Sacramento State 38-33, forced 19 turnovers they turned into 17 points, and had 12 fast-break points.
“I still don’t think we’re playing well, but we talked about how we’ve got to win gritty, and finally we have a defensive battle against a talented team,” UTC coach Deandra Schirmer said. “For us to really stop them coming out in the third, getting that single-digit quarter was completely what changed the entire game.
“I’m really proud of this group for gritting it out, and I think this is the first game since (the season opener against) King that we’ve outrebounded (the opponent) as a team, and as a coach that feels fantastic, especially a team that’s as big as them and as talented as they are. I don’t care how ugly it is right now, if we’ve got to win ugly, we’re going to win ugly until our shots are falling.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.