BIRMINGHAM, AL— Birmingham-Southern overcame a cold first half to win its sixth straight, defeating Coastal Carolina 52-40 Wednesday in the Panthers first game at Bill Battle Coliseum in three weeks.

The Panthers upped their record to 13-7 overall and are now 6-3 versus Big South Conference opponents, although they are ineligible for postseason play.

Amy Woods led BSC with 11 points, while Lindsay Boyett added 10. Jessica Patrick added nine and Atia Agee eight for the Panthers, who are now a perfect 13-0 this season when holding opponents under 65 points.

Nikki Reddick, the leading scorer in the Big South, had 18 for the Lady Chanticleers (6-13). Whitney Shearer added 10 points and Shannon Calabrese had a game-high 10 rebounds for CCU.

Both teams suffered from poor shooting in the first half as the Panthers were 7-of-26 for 27 percent, while the Lady Chants were 6-of-25 for 24 percent.

Midway through the first half, BSC held a 7-5 lead following a Candace Byrd free throw. A pair of free throws from Woods and a lay-up from Boyett gave the Panthers a 17-11 lead with 2:45 before the break. After the Lady Chants cut the lead to 17-15, Woods and Boyett teamed up again to add the final five points of the half, giving BSC a 22-15 halftime advantage.

A steal and lay-up by Agee gave BSC a 24-15 lead 20 seconds into the second period, but five straight points by Reddick pulled CCU to within 24-20 at the 17:45 mark. Reddick added two free throws, cutting the margin to two at 27-25 three minutes later.

But the Panthers responded and created back-to-back turnovers off their full-court press and Woods and Agee converted lay-ups, boosting BSC’s lead to 35-27 with 12 minutes to play. Reddick again answered the call, scoring five consecutive points to cut the Panther lead to 35-32 with 10:25 remaining.

Agee put the Panthers up 43-36 with 5:10 left after nailing a clutch 17-foot baseline jumper as the shot clock was winding down. The Panthers sealed the win making 8-of-10 free throws in the final two minutes.