CONWAY – A week after opening conference play on the road, the No. 21 Coastal Carolina women's basketball team returns home to open the home portion of the Sun Belt Conference schedule this week at The HTC Center. In the first of two games, the Chants will host Texas State on Jan. 9 followed by a visit from UT Arlington on Jan. 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and 2 p.m. ET, respectively.
After earning it's first-ever ranking in the
CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 poll last week, Coastal moved up three notches in the latest poll to No. 21 this week after splitting the first two games of conference play.
CCU has played the Bobcats seven times with Texas State holding a 4-3 advantage in the series, while UTA has a 5-1 series lead in the six times the two teams have faced each other.
ABOUT COASTAL
Coastal enters the week with an 11-2 overall record and 1-1 in Sun Belt play after splitting the two conference contests on the road last week.
The Chanticleers are averaging 77.9 per contest overall and 74.0 points per game in conference play, both of which are second-best in the Sun Belt. On the season, CCU's defensive unit is allowing 73.0 points per game in Sun Belt action and 57.8 points per contest overall.
As a team, Coastal is shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from three-point land overall while in conference action the Chants are hitting field goals at a 37.8 percentage rate and 29.8 percent from behind the arc.
Sophomore forward
Aja Blount is leading the Chanticleer offense with 15.9 points per game, which is second in the Sun Belt, while senior guard
DJ Williams if fifth in the conference with 15.1 points per contest.
COASTAL LAST TIME OUT
Coastal picked up its first Sun Belt win of the season with a 71-62 road victory over South Alabama on Jan. 4. Blount came off the bench to record a career-high 38 points against the Jags. Senior three-point specialist
Caitlin Roche was the only other Chant in double digits with 15 points.
Roche opened the contest with back-to-back three pointers before Blount took over and recorded 36 points in the final three quarters.
SCOUTING TEXAS STATE
The Bobcats enter the week with a 7-6 overall record and a 0-2 start in SBC play while the offense is averaging 61.8 points per contest overall and 59.5 points per game in the conference. Defensively, Texas State is allowing just 59.1 points per game overall, however, that has jumped up to 67.0 points per contest in the Sun Belt.
Da'Nasia Hood leads the Bobcats with 11.1 points per game while Brooke Holle and Kennedy Taylor are adding 10.4 and 10.3 points per contest, respectively.
On the season, TXST is shooting 27.8 percent from behind the arc while making 38.1 percent of their shots from the field overall.
LAST TIME OUT TEXAS STATE
The Bobcats dropped their second consecutive Sun Belt game, losing to Arkansas State 56-53 at home in San Marcos, Texas on Jan. 04.
Hood recorded a team-high 14 points in the loss to the Red Wolves, while Avionne Alexander chipped in with 13 points.
SCOUTING UT ARLINGTON
The Mavericks enter the week in a three-way tie for the SBC lead with a 2-0 record in conference action and an overall record of 8-6 on the season. On the season, UTA is allowing just 61.9 points per contest overall and a conference best 51.0 points per game in conference play while scoring 63.4 points per game and 68.0 in the Sun Belt.
UT Arlington's Marie Benson leads the league with 18.2 points per game with Claire Chastain adding 10.5 points per contest.
The Mavericks are shooting 43.0 percent from the field, including shooting 26.1 percent from long distance.
LAST TIME OUT UT ARLINGTON
UT Arlington picked up win number two in Sun Belt play with a 65-58 victory at home against Little Rock and improved to 8-6 overall.
Benson had a game-high 25 points to lead the Mavericks with Terryn Milton adding 12 points in the win.
UTA will play travel to Appalachian State on Jan. 9 in Boone, N.C. before taking on Coastal on Saturday, Jan. 11.
For complete coverage of CCU women's basketball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalWBB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.
