Women's Basketball Welcomes High Point on Tuesday
12/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team plays its last game of the calendar year on Tuesday night as the Chanticleers host second-place High Point at 7 p.m. at The HTC Center.
High Point vs. Coastal Carolina | Tuesday, Dec. 30 | 7 p.m.
Series Record: High Point leads 23-15
Arena: The HTC Center
Video: Big South Network
Audio: Chanticleer Sports Network
Live Stats:
Last Time Out
The Chants fell to Saint Francis 75-72 at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on December 21. It was the smallest margin of defeat Coastal has faced since losing 82-81 to Campbell on Feb. 13, 2014.
SFU's Alexa Hayward, who entered the game as the nation's fourth-leading scorer, finished with 37 points, the most allowed by an opposing player since Campbell's Roslyn Presley scored 29 against Coastal last February.
AJ Jordan led Coastal in scoring for the fifth game this season with 19 points. Ced Gibson and Anna Vogt also scored in double figures with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Alexis Robinson led with 10 rebounds.
Chanticleers versus High Point
Tuesday's game marks the 39th all-time meeting between the Chants and Panthers. HPU owns a 23-15 series advantage, and has won seven of the past 10 meetings between the teams. The two sides split last year's pair of games, with the home team claiming the victory in each matchup. The Chants are 3-2 in their last five games, and have won each of their last two in The HTC Center.
Big South Player of the Week
Before the holiday break, junior forward Anna Vogt was named the Big South Player of the Week by both the conference and College Sports Madness. She is the first Coastal player to receive the league's weekly honor since Jordan was tabbed POTW on Jan. 6, 2014. In Coastal's two games the week of Dec. 15-21, Vogt averaged 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. She also tallied four assists and recorded two steals.
League Leaders
With a third of the season in the books, the Chanticleers sit atop the Big South standings in several important statistical categories.
The Chants lead the conference averaging 79.2 points per game, over nine points more than High Point which is currently second. On the defensive side, Coastal's 57.5 points allowed per game ranks second in the conference. The +21.7 average scoring margin for Coastal leads the Big South, and is currently third best in the nation.
Coastal has also been a strong rebounding team this season. Through 10 games, the Chants have out-rebounded every opponent, and have not recorded less than 40 rebounds in a game. Coastal leads the Big South and is second in the nation in defensive rebounds, averaging 33 per game. On the offensive boards, the Chants' average of 18 per game ranks 11th nationally.
Scouting High Point
The Panthers enter Tuesday night's game sitting at second in the league with a 2-0 record against Big South opponents, having defeated both Longwood and Presbyterian. The two conference wins were bookended by non-conference wins against Elon and UNCG, putting High Point's longest win streak this season at four games. The Panthers' streak ended with a pair of road losses prior to the Christmas break. HPU fell 81-59 at VCU on Dec. 18 before facing a similar 83-57 loss at Nebraska on Dec. 20.
High Point features a one-two punch in the form of sophomore guard Kaylah Keys, who was named the Big South Preseason Player of the Year, and All-Big South senior forward Stacia Robertson.
Keys is leading the Panthers' offense, and the Big South, averaging 15.8 points per game. For the season, she is shooting .399 from the field and .361 from beyond the arc.
Robertson has been a force at both ends of the court for High Point. She ranks third in the conference in scoring (17.4 points per game), third in rebounding (9.5 per game), first in field goal percentage (.569), first in steals (3.00 per game) and first in blocked shots (3.30 per game).
