Jan. 24, 2011

Final Stats

LYNCHBURG, VA. - The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team rallied from as many as 12 points down in the second half at Liberty on Monday evening, but would eventually fall to the Flames 58-54.

Coastal Carolina, 6-12 (0-6 Big South), used eight made three pointers in the contest to hang tight with Liberty, 11-8 (5-1 Big South), down to the final seconds before two Avery Warley free throws sealed the Flames win.

Warley led all scorers in the contest with 14 points and had the games only double-double as she grabbed 13 boards. Jelena Antic and Devon Brown each contributed 11 of Liberty's 58 points.

The Chanticleers were paced by Kira Carter's 12 points on 4-of-8 from the field with a three pointer. Sydnei Moss also reached double figures with 11 points on the night. Sharpshooter Jessica Noll finished her second consecutive game with nine points as all of her points came from long range.

After falling behind Liberty by 12 points early in the second half, Carter converted an old fashioned three-point play as she was fouled while shooting. The points would spark Coastal's comeback attempt throughout the remainder of the second half.

Kayla Cook would contribute five of the Chants points during a 9-2 run over the next 5:45 to close the Liberty advantage to four points and give Coastal a chance to win the game with just over four minutes remaining on the game clock.

Liberty's Rachael McLeod would slow the Chanticleers momentum as she connected on a runner in the lane to restore the Flame's lead to six at 51-45. On Coastal's next possession, Olivia Irick connected on a three at the top of the key to put Liberty back on the ropes. The Flames Tolu Omotola scored on Liberty's ensuing possession. Moss then hit another three to make it a one possession game at 53-51 with just over two minutes to play.

Liberty's Jelena Antic hit the front end of a one-and-one at the free throw line to give the home team a three point lead with 1:46 remaining. On the Chanticleers next possession Katie White, who became the Big South's eighth all-time leading shot blocker with her three blocks on the evening, was rejected on a layup by Warley.

After Warley made both foul shots with 33.3 seconds left, Moss scored the Chanticleers eighth and final three of the night to pull the Chants within two at 56-54. Warley would finish off the game from the free throw line to seal the Flames fifth conference victory.

Trailing Liberty 17-8 after a media timeout with 11:45 until the half, the Coastal's Lauren Grochowski and Noll combined for eight consecutive points to cut the Flames lead to 22-16. Kayla Cook then drilled a deep three with the shot clock expiring to trim Liberty's advantage to six at 28-22 with 4:14 remaining in the half. Liberty would respond with a 7-3 run to take a 35-25 advantage into the locker rooms.

"That was a great effort by our team tonight," said head coach Alan LeForce. "They played very hard against a big, physical team. In games this close, the game usually comes down to two or three play at the end and, unfortunately, those just didn't go our way."

Liberty took full advantage of its 39-26 edge on the glass as the Flames totaled 15 second chance point to the Chanticleers six. Coastal's bench outperformed its opponent in the second consecutive game finishing with 16 points.

Up next, the Chanticleers will travel to Radford, Va. to take on the Highlanders in its third consecutive road contest. Tip-off from the Dedmon Center is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29.