Feb. 21, 2011

Final Stats

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team fell in a heartbreaker to UNC Asheville 67-64, despite holding as much as a 10 point lead in the second half.

Asheville (11-15, 4-9 Big South) used a 25-of-36 shooting performance from the line and 22 points from Kendall Shepard to outlast the Chanticleers and lay claim to its first home victory of the season.

Coastal Carolina (9-16, 3-10 Big South) shot an even 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from beyond the arc. However, the Chanticleers struggled from the free throw line down the stretch to finish 6-of-14 for 42.9 percent.

Coastal had three players score in double-figures for the first time in conference play as Sydnei Moss, Jessica Noll and Taylor Epley scored 13, 11, and 10 points, respectively. Moss was also the Chants leader on the boards as she pulled down eight on the evening.

The Chanticleers' bench flexed its muscle in the game as it outscored the Bulldogs' bench 41-21. Coastal also held a 32-28 edge in points in the paint and a 9-6 advantage on second chance points.

Asheville would take its first lead since early in the first half at 56-55 off a jumper by Kendall Shepard with 4:51 left in the second period. The Bulldogs would then continue to pour in the points on their following two possessions to pull out to a five point lead. Epley would stop the Bulldog momentum as she drove down the lane and laid the ball in the basket to cut the Asheville lead to three. Moss would score on Coastal's next trip down the floor after a Bulldogs free throw to bring the Chants within two points with 2:34 to play.

The Bulldogs' Shepard would put Asheville back on top by four off a tip-in on a wayward shot by Kelli Riles. Noll would pull the Chanticleers back within one on her third triple of the game on the team's ensuing possession. An Ashville layup and free throw in the final minute would extend its lead back to four before Angelica Henry provided the last of Coastal's points on a layup with seven seconds left. The Bulldogs would add an additional free throw in the final seconds to secure the 67-64 win.

The second half opened with Coastal Carolina locking down Asheville and only allowing the Bulldogs to score a meager two points from the floor over the first six minutes of play. However, Coastal was unable to pull away due to a combination of a small scoring drought of its own and Asheville's ability to get to the charity stripe.

UNC Asheville came out of the locker room strong to start the game as Breaire Barksdale converted two consecutive layups to open the scoring in the contest. Kelli Riles was able to tack on a free throw to push the Ashville lead to five before the Chanticleers ever scored a point. Coastal Carolina would find its stroke over the ensuing five minutes and take the lead at 10-9 with 12:18. The Chants would open up as much as an eight point lead, 26-18, off the hot shooting of Jessica Noll and Taylor Epley. Noll sank back-to-back shots from long range while Epley scored four points on mid-range jumpers during the Chanticleer run.

Coastal would not relinquish the lead as the Chants took a 36-32 advantage into the intermission. In the period, Coastal shot an uncharacteristic 53.6 percent from the floor and picked up 25 points from its bench.

Coastal Carolina will return home to Kimbel Arena for the final time this season to take on Liberty on Saturday, Feb. 26 and High Point Monday, Feb. 28. Prior to Saturday's tilt against Liberty, Coastal Carolina will honor seniors Sydnei Moss, Katie White, Jessica Noll, Katie Ahaus and Lauren Grochowski for their accomplishments and contributions to Chanticleer women's basketball.