The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team was unable to avoid adding to its losing skid Saturday afternoon, but the Mocs' ninth defeat in a row was of the narrow variety as North Alabama won 74-71 at McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs (1-11) never led, but they trimmed the deficit to 72-71 with seven seconds to play after Amaria Pugh got a steal and made a layup. The Lions (5-5) turned the ball over, but UTC's Dena Jarrells then missed a short jumper that was rebounded by North Alabama's Alexis Callins, who knocked down a pair of free throws.
Jarrells' last-second heave bounced off the backboard and hit the rim before falling out.
Abbey Cornelius led the Mocs with 18 points, eight rebounds and five blocks, and she also had two assists and a steal. Brooke Hampel added 11 points and five boards, while Pugh, Sigrun Olafsdottir and Addie Porter scored nine each and Jarrells finished with eight. Olafsdottir also had six rebounds, three steals and two assists.
"My message to the team is that they've got to keep their heads up and keep moving forward," UTC coach Katie Burrows said. "We can't change it; we can only try to be better moving forward. They're brokenhearted, and I am for them, so I'm just trying to give them some positives. One who is looking from the outside in doesn't see all the positives.
"But our team is not mature enough yet to dig ourselves out of these holes we keep getting ourselves in. We sure do try; we fought like hell to do that, and we're going to keep fighting. That's the one thing I think these kids are never going to do is quit fighting."
North Alabama had three scorers in double figures: Julia Strachan (25), Jade Moore (16) and Hina Suzuki (14).
After the game, Burrows announced that two-time All-Southern Conference forward Eboni Williams - the 2018-19 SoCon freshman of the year - is no longer part of the program. Williams had not played this season, and Burrows said she couldn't give any more information "due to FERPA laws," referring to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
"We wish her the best and hope she succeeds moving forward," Burrows said.
The Mocs host UNC Asheville (5-5) at 2 p.m. Monday, their last game before visiting Tennessee on Dec. 27.
Compiled by Gene Henley. Contact him at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.