MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.- The Coastal Carolina University women’s basketball team (4-4) came back from an eight-point deficit to tie the game at 49 with 4:42 left in the second half, but the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (4-5) went on an 8-0 run and sealed the win at the free-throw line in a 62-56 win over the Lady Chants Dec. 20. The game was part of the Carolinas Women’s Challenge at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Coastal came out as the aggressor, leading 9-2 with 14:41 left in the first half, but ULL went on 18-5 run to take a 20-14 lead, capped off by two free throws from Anna Petrakova at the 6:38 mark. Coastal made a 9-0 run to regain the lead at 23-20, but a 9-1 Ragin’ Cajuns run to end the half gave them a 29-24 lead at the break.

Senior Nikki Reddick (Hartsville, S.C./Hartsville) had 11 points at the half, with junior Lucia Popovici (Edmonton, Alberta/Jasper Place) added four points. ULL’s Anna Petrokova had 12 points and nine rebounds at the break.

Louisiana-Lafayette kept the lead between four and eight until a three-pointer by freshman Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) at 11:17 cut the lead to 41-38. At 9:26, a Reddick three-pointer gave Coastal only a two-point deficit and after four straight ULL points, Dill hit another three to bring the deficit to three. Petrokova hit a layup at 6:19 for a 49-44 lead, but Coastal answered with five straight points from junior Courtney Brown (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) to tie the game. It was then that the Ragin’ Cajuns went on the 8-0 run, hitting five free throws in the last three minutes to keep the Lady Chants at bay.

Reddick led Coastal with 25 points on 8-of-19 from the field. Dill was the other Lady Chant in double figures with 11 points, going 3-of-5 from three-point range. Dill and senior Cyndie Troutman (Hampton, Tenn./Walters State C.C.) each had seven rebounds. Petrakova had 23 points and 19 rebounds for the Ragin’ Cajuns.

Louisiana-Lafayette went only 3-of-20 from three-point range, but was 19-of-25 from the free-throw line, compared to 11-21 for Coastal.

The Lady Chants will break for the Christmas holiday and finishes the 2003 portion of their schedule Monday, Dec. 29, against Clemson University. Game time is at 7 p.m., in Clemson, S.C.