Conway, S.C. – Freshman Anaya Barney scored a career-high 22 points and graduate student Aja Blount added 20 points, but it was not enough as Georgia Southern came from behind in the second half for an 81-75 win over Coastal Carolina in a Sun Belt Conference contest Thursday night at the HTC Center.
 
Guard Arin Freeman added 13 points for Coastal Carolina, which slipped to 6-8 overall and 1-2 in the league. It was also the first home loss for the Chants after five early season wins.
 
Andreana Wrister hit a pair of three-pointers to put Georgia Southern in front to stay early in the third quarter, and then Terren Ward took over the scoring, tallying 15 of her 17 points in the second half. Wrister finished with just eight points, but they were key in lifting the Eagles to 10-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference.
 
"On a night where we didn't have much going for us, Anaya was a bright spot for us," said Coastal first-year head coach Kevin Pederson. "We did not come out ready to play in the third quarter and that was the difference. It is as simple as that. We did not rebound well, and we did not lock up on defense. We are not going to win many games giving up 81 points."
 
Barney hit 6-of-8 three-pointers and was 7-of-11 overall from the field, while Blount was 7-of-12 from the floor and all six of her free throws. Freeman, who got all but two of her points in the first half, hit just 4-of-10 shot attempts from the field but was a perfect 5-of-5 from the foul line and dished out six assists.
 
There were five lead changes in the first five minutes of the contest before Freeman ignited a 10-0 run for Coastal that put the Chanticleers in front by eight at 17-9. The Chants did not look back and held the lead for the rest of the first two periods to take a 39-32 lead at the halftime break. Freeman, who had four points in the run, finished with 11 points in the first half, while Blount had 10.
 
However, Georgia Southern opened the third period with a 16-2 run that included four three-pointers as the Eagles rallied to a 48-41 lead. They led by just 56-52 at the close of the third period before Blount sat for a few minutes after picking up her fourth foul. That was the break Georgia Southern needed, as Ward scored five points during a 7-0 run to give the Eagles a 65-54 cushion.
 
Blount hit an inside bucket to help Coastal cut the margin to 72-66 with three minutes left, but the Chanticleers would get no closer. The Eagles responded with a 6-0 run to give them their largest lead of the night at 78-66.
 
Coastal was outrebounded by 47-36 and gave up 21 second-chance points to the Eagles, who were averaging 90 points per game. Blount led Coastal with nine rebounds, while Freeman and Miriam Recarte each had six. Ward led Georgia Southern with 10 rebounds.
 
The Chants women will play the second of four consecutive home games at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday when they face ULM. Home games against Marshall and South Alabama will follow 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.