JONESBORO, ARK. – The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team fell 81-73 to the Arkansas State Red Wolves in Jonesboro, Ark., on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Chanticleers drop to 6-8 on the season and 0-1 in Sun Belt action, while A-State improves to 7-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play with the win.
 
Coastal's Arin Freeman finished with a team-high 17 points, while getting help from Alancia Ramsey (16), Makaila Cange (11), and Anaya Barney (10) as all four scored in double digits. Cange was the team's leading rebounder with 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double and Riley Stack finishing with four blocks for the Chants. Coastal loss the rebounded battle to the Red Wolves 42-33 on the afternoon.
 
Arkansas State was led by Izzy Higginbottom with a game-high 25 points and was helped by Lauryn Pendleton and Cheyenne Forney with 17 and 12 points, respectively. Pendleton finished with a game-high 12 rebounds for a double-double. A-State finished 7-of-21 from behind the arc.
 
Coastal took a 5-0 lead in the opening minute on a Freeman put back and was followed by an old-fashioned three-point play by Cange before the Red Wolves took the lead with a 13-2 run. CCU pulled the deficit to 17-16 with a 10-3 burst, highlighted by the Chants going 5-of-6 from the free throw line. However, Arkansas State's Annaliese Griffin made a layup as time expired in the first period for the 19-16 margin.
 
The second quarter began with the Red Wolves increasing their lead to 17 at 35-18 with a 16-2 surge. Coastal's Ramsey sparked a 7-0 spurt as she scored five of the seven points to trail 35-25, as the freshman post player scored an old-fashioned three-point play and followed with two from the free throw line. After a pair of free throws by the Red Wolves, the Chanticleers closed the second period with an 8-0 run to trail 37-33, highlighted by Freeman scoring four straight points to start the run.
 
The third quarter opened with A-State increasing its lead to 51-38 with a 14-5 run. A three-point jump shot by Coastal's Deaja Richardson to spark a 17-7 burst that was capped by a Barney three-point bomb to cut the deficit to 58-55 with 2:18 left to play in the third period. Arkansas State outscored the Ladies in Teal 6-3 to lead 64-58 with 10 minutes left to play in regulation.
 
The final quarter of the contest saw Coastal cut the margin to 64-62 with back-to-back baskets by Zaria Hurston and Dalanna Carter before the Red Wolves scored seven unanswered points to lead 71-62 with 5:49 left to play. The Chanticleers answered with an 8-0 run to close within 71-70, ignited by a layup by Freeman and topped off by a layup by Cange. Arkansas State halted the Coastal comeback bid by outscoring the Chants 10-3 for the final margin of 81-73.
 
Coastal Carolina will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 3, as the Chanticleers host Sun Belt Conference opponent Southern Miss in Conway, S.C., to kick-off a four-game homestand. The tip-off is scheduled for 6 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.