CHARLESTON, S.C.- The Coastal Carolina University women's basketball team (7-5, 1-0 Big South) opened the Big South Conference schedule with a 56-52 victory over Charleston Southern University (2-10, 0-1 Big South) Jan. 10, in Charleston, S.C.

Charleston Southern opened the game on fire, grabbing a 9-3 lead in the first 6:32. The Lady Bucs went 5-of-6 from the line during that time. Coastal answered back and when sophomore Amber Rose (Baxter, Tenn./Upperman) hit a three with 11:48 left, the Lady Chants had their first lead of the game at 10-9. Coastal built up an 11-point lead on a Rose layup with 3:46 left, but a 7-0 run by Charleston Southern cut the lead at four with 1:34 left. Senior Crystal Brown (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) hit one free throw at :35, giving the Chants a five-point halftime lead.

Coastal had a halftime lead despite shooting only 25 percent from the field. Senior Whitney Shearer (Monticello, Ky./Wayne County) led the Lady Chants with six points in the opening frame, while senior Cyndie Troutman (Hampton, Tenn./Walters State C.C.) grabbed four boards.

Charleston Southern came out in the second half and got senior Nikki Reddick (Hartsville, S.C./Hartsville) to commit her third personal foul at 19:33. Reddick played only three minutes in the first half with two fouls. CSU took a one-point lead on an Erica McCoy layup, but Coastal’s 7-0 run, sparked by five points from junior Courtney Brown (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch), gave the Lady Chants a 34-28 lead. When Charleston Southern cut the lead to one with 12:24 left, Coastal answered with 12-1 run, with nine of those points coming on three three-point bombs from Reddick. Charleston Southern had one more run in them, as a Deborah Cherry layup with 1:19 left cut the Lady Chants lead to 51-49. The next time down the court, Shearer hit a three in the corner, giving Coastal a 54-49 lead. Courtney Brown’s sealed the deal with a layup with 15 seconds remaining.

Crystal Brown led the Lady Chants with 13 points and added five rebounds. Reddick and Shearer had nine points apiece and Troutman had eight. Troutman led Coastal with eight rebounds, while Reddick had four assists.

Coastal went 5-of-8 from three-point range in the second half and was 8-of-18 for the game. Coastal also shot 76.9 percent from the free-throw line. The Lady Chants are now 12-4 all-time in Big South openers.

Charleston Southern was led by Summer Dalton, who had 15 points off the bench. CSU hit six three-pointers and outrebounded Coastal 42-36.

Coastal faces the College of Charleston Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m., at Kimbel Arena.