CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team will return to the road this week for Sun Belt Conference matchups at Georgia State (Jan. 19) and Appalachian State (Jan. 21). The tip-off versus the Panthers on Thursday night is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, while Coastal and App State will start at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon.
The Chanticleers are 8-9 overall on the season and 3-3 in Sun Belt Conference play after picking up back-to-back conference wins for the first time in 53 weeks with a 65-61 win over Marshall and a 69-44 victory over South Alabama in Sun Belt play last week.
The Georgia State Panthers enter this week's action at 8-11 overall and 2-4 in the conference, while the Mountaineers currently sit at 7-10 overall and 3-3 in Sun Belt play.
LAST TIME OUT
Coastal used a strong third quarter to pull away for the 69-44 win over South Alabama to even its Sun Belt Conference record on the season. The Chanticleers were led by sophomore point guard
Arin Freeman who recorded a game-high 17 points and assisted on seven CCU scores while committing just three turnovers.
HISTORY BETWEEN COASTAL AND GEORGIA STATE
The Chants lead the all-time series at 9-5, as the two teams will be meeting for the 15th time on the hardwood. The last time the two teams played, Coastal claimed a 69-62 road win over the Panthers last season.
HISTORY BETWEEN COASTAL AND APP STATE
The two teams will be meeting for the 20th time on Saturday, as the Mountaineers lead the all-time series at 12-7. Coastal Carolina is currently on a five-game skid against Appalachian State, which includes a 70-68 loss last season.
ABOUT COASTAL
The Chants are averaging 69.4 points per game while shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 31.8 from three-point range. Defensively, Coastal has allowed 66.0 points per game while its opponents are shooting 40.8 percent from the floor.
Graduate student
Aja Blount leads the Chants in double-digit scoring with 15.3 points per game, while Freeman, senior
Deaja Richardson, and freshman
Anaya Barney are scoring 11.1, 10.5, and 9.2 points, respectively. Freeman leads the Chants in both assists and takeaways with 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Aside from scoring, Blount leads the team with 8.2 rebounds per game, with Freeman and Barney adding 5.2 and 4.3 boards, respectively.
ABOUT GEORGIA STATE
As a team, the Panthers are averaging 63.7 points per contest while allowing just 59.8 points per game. Georgia State has outshot its opponents at 42.0 percent to 36.0 percent from the floor. On the year, the Panthers have outrebounded their opponents by three boards per game at 37.6 to 34.6 rebounds per game.
Deasia Merrill leads the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game, while Mikyla Tolivert and Zay Dyer have chipped in with 12.5 and 8.0 points per contest each. Merrill leads the team with 7.5 rebounds per game, while Dyer (6.6) and Alyssa Phillip (4.9) are each grabbing more than four rebounds per game.
ABOUT APP STATE
The Mountaineers are averaging just 70.0 points per contest while allowing 70.7 points per game. Appalachian State has been outshot by its opponents at 40.9 percent to 40.8 percent from the floor. On the year, the Mountaineers have been outrebounded by their opponents 673-636 in the 17 games to date.
Janay Sanders (14.5), Emily Carver (11.1), and Faith Alston (10.0) lead App State in scoring as the trio are all averaging over 10 points per game. Lauren Carter is the Mountaineers' top rebounder averaging 5.5 boards per game, while Brooke Bigott (4.9), Carver (4.7), and Alston (4.1) have grabbed more than four rebounds per game.
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.
