CONWAY, S.C. – Aja Blount and Deaja Richardson each scored 20 points as Coastal Carolina pulled away in the second half to upset James Madison 79-64 in a Sun Belt Conference game Thursday night at the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina University.
 
Blount and Richardson were supported by Arin Freeman and Anaya Barney, who had 11 and 10 points, respectively. Miriam Recarte also added nine points for the Chanticleers, who upped their record to 10-10 overall and 5-4 in the league. It was a big turnaround from a month ago when James Madison defeated Coastal 77-56 on the road in Harrisonburg, Va.

 

Kiki Jefferson scored 17 points to lead James Madison, which came in as the league leader with only one loss in conference play. The Dukes slipped to 17-4 overall and 7-2 in the conference with their second loss in the last three games.
 
Coastal led by only five at 49-44 before CCU outscored the visitors 30-20 over the last 12 minutes of action. The Chants hit 5-of-6 treys in the final quarter as they pulled away to lead by 18 at 75-57 with 2:15 left in the game. Richardson made 5-of-8 from long range, while Barney hit a pair of threes, including the one that put Coastal up by 18. Coastal also converted 8-of-10 free throws in the last quarter to quell any attempt of a JMU comeback.
 
"I really want our team to have success like this and I'm so happy for them," said Coastal head coach Kevin Pederson. "We do not win this game if we do not make seven or eight three-pointers. We wanted to play inside-outside, and we preached about keeping our composure. Let us act like we have been here before, and we responded when they cut our lead to five."
 
Coastal got off to a slow start going more than five minutes without a point and falling behind at 11-5 before Richardson took matters into her own hands. She hit a three-pointer and followed that with a steal and a breakaway layup to make it 11-10 Dukes after the first quarter.
 
Freeman opened the second period with a steal and a breakaway layup that put the Chants ahead for the first time. Blount started a 14-4 run to put the Chants ahead to stay, in which CCU hit 7-of-8 free throws and led 29-19 at the end of the run. Blount had 10 points and Richardson had eight in the first two periods to lift Coastal to a 31-24 lead at the break.
 
James Madison made a 7-0 run to pull within 49-44, however Blount and Richardson combined for the next five points to give the Chants a 54-44 advantage three quarters. Coastal pulled away from there for its biggest win of the season.
 
It was the sixth time this season that Blount hit for 20 or more points, while Richardson's 20 points marked her second-highest total of the season. Coastal hit just 41 percent (23-of-56) from the field overall, but made 6-of-10 shot attempts in the fourth quarter when it mattered most. Five of those buckets were three-pointers.
 
Blount led the Chants with six rebounds, but it was a community effort as 11 different players had at least one rebound. Recarte and Helena Delaruelle had five rebounds apiece. Coastal was also 22-of-29 from the foul line, including knocking down 11-of-13 in the final two quarters.

 

Coastal now heads to Norfolk, Va., for a road contest with Old Dominion at 2 p.m. ET Saturday before coming back home to host Arkansas State and Appalachian State next week.
 
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.