CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team fell 85-81 versus the College of Charleston Cougars in Charleston, S.C., on Friday evening. With the loss, the Chanticleers fall to 2-5 on the year, while the Cougars improved to 3-3 overall with the win.
Coastal was led by
Aja Blount with a season-high's 24 points and 15 rebounds, as the 5-11 forward recorded her 21st career double-double to lead five players in double-digit scoring.
Arin Freeman,
Anaya Barney,
Amaya Adams, and
Deaja Richardson all chipped in with 18, 12, 12, and 11 points, respectively.
As a team, CCU was 28-of-65 from the floor for 43.1 percent, including 5-of-21 from three-point range. Coastal finished 20-of-25 at the free throw line for 80.0 percent but lost the rebound battle at 42-37.
College of Charleston was led by Jada Logan with 33 points, while Jazmyn Stone and Anika McGarity added 20 and 10 points, respectively. The Cougars shot 28-of-65 for a 43.1 shooting percentage, including 6-of-21 from behind the arc. CofC shot just 69.8 percent from the free throw line by going 23-of-33 for the game.
CCU opened the contest with a 9-3 lead, sparked by a Barney three-pointer and capped on a fast break layup by Freeman that forced the home team to call its first timeout. After the break in action, the Cougars cut the Chants lead to two at 9-7 on a McGarity free throw and three-pointer.
The two teams traded the next eight points with Coastal maintaining a two-point advantage at 13-11. CofC scored the next four points from the free throw line as Logan and Stone hit a pair to give the Cougars their first lead at 15-13. CCU answered with a pair of free throws by Freeman to even the game at 15-15. After a brief exchange of the lead twice by each team, College of Charleston took the lead at 23-20 at the end of the first quarter on back-to-back baskets by Logan.
After the Cougars pushed their lead to five on a jump shot by Stone to start the second quarter, Blount went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to cut the lead to two at 27-25. College of Charleston increased its lead to eight at 35-27 with an 8-2 surge, before Coastal closed the second quarter with a 4-0 run on baskets by Adams and Barney to trail at the intermission 35-31.
Coastal began the third quarter with a long range three-pointer by Richardson to cut the home team's lead to 35-34, only to see the Cougars open up a four-point lead at 38-34. CCU cut the lead to two on a fast break layup by Richardson, just before the home team began to pull away with five unanswered points.
CCU's Blount cut the seven-point lead to five on an old-fashioned three-point play as the graduate student grabbed a missed Chanticleer shot and hit the put back while a Cougar was hanging on her arm to put the Chants down 43-39. After the two teams traded the next 24 points, the Chants' Richardson hit back-to-back traditional three-point plays to cut the CofC lead to 62-57. The Cougars recorded the final bucket of the third quarter for a 64-57 advantage.
College of Charleston used a 9-3 burst in the fourth quarter to open a 14-point lead at 74-60 before the Chanticleers battled back with an 11-2 run, sparked by layup by Blount and capped by jumper in the paint by Freeman. After four unanswered Cougar points for an 80-71 advantage, CCU called one of its last two timeouts. Blount hit a three-pointer from the far corner to cut the lead to six at 80-74 and the Chanticleers called their final timeout.
Down six, Coastal put the home team on the free throw line to try and get the rebound. After trading baskets, CCU's Blount hit a second three-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to three at 84-81 with two seconds left on the game clock. The Cougars hit the final margin at 85-81 at the free throw line as Stone hit 1-of-2.
Coastal Carolina will return to the HTC Center for the next contest, as the Chanticleers will welcome the Furman Paladins to Conway, S.C., on Sunday, Dec. 11. The opening tip is scheduled for 2 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.
