ATHENS, Ga. – The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team dropped its season-opening contest 78-61 versus the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Ga., on Monday evening. With the loss, the Chanticleers fall to 0-1 on the year, while UGA improved to 1-0 overall with the win.
 
Coastal was led by newcomer  Anaya Barney with a game-high 16 points, while returners Aja Blount and Angie Juste-Jean chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Georgia's offense was paced by Javyn Nicholson's 14 points along with Diamond Battles and Brittney Smith with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
 
The Chants were 22-of-59 from the floor for 37.3 percent, including shooting 7-of-23 from behind the arc for 30.4 percent, while Georgia was 27-of-58 from the field for a scorching 46.6 percent while hitting 3-of-10 from three-point range for 30 percent. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Chanticleers 41-34. Blount led CCU with eight boards, while Nicholson finished with nine rebounds for UGA.
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to the early 2-0 advantage with a Nicholson layup after winning the opening tip-off and upped it to 4-0 on a second Nicholson layup. CCU's Helena Delaruelle cut the lead in half at 4-2 with a mid-range jumper in the paint, only to see the host team push its lead to 13-6 by outscoring the visitors from Conway 9-4 for the 13-6 lead at the media timeout.
 
Coming out of the break, Coastal's Arin Freeman scored three points by hitting 1-of-2 from the free throw line and a putback of a missed Chanticleer jump shot to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 13-9. After Georgia hit 2-of-4 from the charity stripe, CCU's Barney recorded her first career basket as a Chant with a three-pointer from long range to pull the Chants to within three at 15-12. Barney answered a Georgia 5-0 run by hitting the final four points of the opening quarter to cut the Bulldogs' lead to four at 20-16.
 
UGA opened a 10-point advantage in the second quarter before Coastal answered with a putback layup by Blount. She then followed the basket after a CCU defensive stop with a pair of free throws to cut the host team's lead to 28-20 at the media break. Coming out of the timeout, the Bulldogs increased their lead with a 10-4 run for a 40-24 halftime advantage.
 
Coastal opened the second-half action with a 7-2 run, sparked by a Barney jump shot and capped by a three-pointer from the top of the key by Blount to cut the lead to 42-31. After trading 1-of-2 from the free throw line, the next five minutes was an offensive explosion as both teams traded 30 points, with Georgia holding a 64-43 third-quarter lead.
 
The Chanticleers opened the fourth quarter as Barney and Juste-Jean sandwiched a pair of UGA baskets with three-pointers to cut the lead to 68-49, and forced the Bulldogs to call their first timeout of the period. Georgia and Coastal traded the final 22 points as UGA held on for the 78-61 win.
 
Coastal Carolina will return to the road for the next contest, as the Chanticleers will travel to Lexington, Ky., as they will take on the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday, Nov. 13. The opening tip is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
 
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.GoCCUSports.com.