MOBILE, Ala. – After leading nearly the entire game, the Coastal Carolina women's basketball team fell 58-55 to South Alabama in Mobile, Ala.  With the loss, Coastal falls to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in Sun Belt Conference play while the two-game series sweep gives South Alabama a 6-4 overall record and a 3-1 mark in conference play.
 
The Chanticleers went scoreless over the final 4:04 of the game and saw an 11-0 run by South Alabama erase the Chants' eight-point advantage.  Coastal's Aja Blount appeared to have an open look at a three-point shot with the clock winding toward zero but South Alabama's Antoinette Lewis blocked the last-second attempt to preserve the lead and secure the win for the Jaguars.
 
The Chanticleers trailed for only nine seconds in the opening quarter and scored the final four points of the opening 10-minute period to take a 14-10 lead heading to the second quarter.  Janeen Camp grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds and scored on second-chance opportunities to tally the final four points of the quarter.
 
With Coastal holding a 16-14 lead with 7:05 remaining in the second quarter, the Chants scored six unanswered points to open its largest lead of the first half of eight points at 22-14 with 3:57 on the clock.  During the run, Deaja Richardson scored four points on a pair of layups and Blount connected on a jumper just inside the paint to open the cushion.  The teams traded baskets the remainder of the second quarter as the Chanticleers took a 29-22 lead into halftime.
 
South Alabama opened the second half with two Lewis layups and a layup by Mahogany Vaught to cap a 6-0 run to open the half and close the Coastal lead to just one point at 29-28 with 7:25 to play in the third quarter.
 
Tiara Davis stopped the run with a layup at the 5:26 mark and then a three-point basket by Richardson gave Coastal a 34-28 lead with 3:21 on the clock.  The Chants continued to hold the lead until Casey Ferguson connected on a three-point bucket with 22 seconds to play in the third quarter that sent the game to the final quarter with the Jaguars leading 39-38.
 
The teams opened the fourth quarter by swapping the lead before the Chants used a 7-0 run to open a 47-41 advantage with 6:16 to play.  Tyra Brown connected on a pair of free throws to cap the run after a steal by Blount.  Kaylin West would push the lead back to eight points for Coastal at 52-44 on a pull-up jumper with 4:04 to play in the game.
 
Unfortunately for the Chants, the West basket would prove to be their final points of the game as South Alabama scored the game's final 11 points.  Jayla Morrow connected on a three-point shot to close the gap to just one point at 1:08 and then the Jaguars took the lead for good with just 25 seconds to play on another trey by Devyn Lowe.  Vaught closed out the scoring by connecting on one of two free throws with 16 seconds remaining.  The missed free throw was followed by a Chanticleer timeout to set the final play which ended with Lewis' block of Blount's three-point attempt.
 
Davis led Coastal in scoring with 10 points while Janeen Camp came off of the bench to post nine points and nine rebounds.  Coastal's production off of the bench led the way for the Chants as they held a 22-9 advantage in scoring by the non-starters.  Richardson also added nine points off of the bench and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.  Saintigene added a season-high 10 rebounds.
 
Lewis and Lowe led South Alabama with 13 points each.  Lewis added eight rebounds and three blocked shots for the Jaguars.
 
Coastal Carolina will return to action on Friday, Jan. 15, at 6 p.m. ET when the Chants host Georgia State in the first of two Sun Belt Conference games.  The second game of the two-game series will tip-off at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 16.  Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ as well as by the Chanticleer Sports Network on www.GoCCUsports.com and 105.5 The Hank FM.
 
 
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 www.GoCCsports.com.