CONWAY, S.C.- Senior Cyndie Troutman (Hampton, Tenn./Walters State C.C.) had a career-high 23 points and senior Whitney Shearer (Monticello, Ky./Wayne County) hit three big three-pointers in the second half as the Coastal Carolina University women’s basketball team (6-5) held off a stubborn Coker College (3-4) squad 75-58 Jan. 7, in Conway, S.C.

Coastal led after the halftime break 30-27 as the Cobras, led by Conway High School’s Shamae Hemmingway’s 10 first-half points, held the Lady Chants to 10-of-33 from the field. CCU jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first 3 1/2 minutes, as freshman Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill), making her first career start, had four quick points. Coastal led by as many as nine points at the 14:07 mark, but Coker would go on a 9-0 run, capped off by a layup by Michelle Glover, in over five minutes to tie the game at 15. Coker would tie the game twice more before four straight points from senior Nikki Reddick (Hartsville, S.C./Hartsville) gave the Lady Chants a three-point cushion at half.

Coastal jumped out to a 5-0 run out the lockerroom to lead 35-27, but Coker hung around, trailing by as little as five points with 13:26 remaining. Six straight points on layups by Troutman gave Coastal a 48-39 lead and after free throws from senior Temecca Barnes (Malone, Fla./Chipola J.C.), Coastal had a 56-43 lead with 8:48 left. At the eight-minute mark, Shearer hit the first of her three three-pointers in the matter of 1:47, the last giving Coastal a 15-point lead and some breathing room.

Troutman recorded a career high in points for the second straight game. She had 17 points against Appalachian State University Jan. 3. She also had seven rebounds and a career high seven steals. Shearer went 5-of-7 from three-point range for 17 points. Reddick was the third Lady Chant in double figures, scoring 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Barnes ended the game with six steals, tying a career high.

Coastal had 20 steals on the game. The last time a Coastal squad had 20 or more steals in a game was last season against the Cobras (21on Nov. 23, 2002).

Coker shot 44.2 percent from the field and was led by Hemingway and Selena Davis with 14 points each. Glover added 12 points, while Davis had nine rebounds. The Cobras outrebounded Coastal 45-39.

Coastal heads to Charleston, S.C., to face Charleston Southern University Saturday, Jan. 10, at 5 p.m., in the Lady Chants Big South Conference opener.