TROY, Ala. – Deaja Richardson led four Coastal Carolina players in double-digit scoring as the Chanticleers women's basketball team toppled the Troy Trojans 99-97 at Troy, Ala., on Thursday night. With the win, CCU improved to 12-14 on the season and 7-8 in Sun Belt Conference action, while the Trojans fell to 16-10 overall and 11-4 in league play with the loss.
 
Coastal was paced by Richardson's career-high 31 points, as the senior guard was 10-of-13 from the floor and 8-of-9 from three-point range. The Kernersville, N.C., native was aided by Aja Blount, Jordyn Newsome, and Arin Freeman as the trio scored 22, 11, and 10 points, respectively.
 
As a team, the Chanticleers shot 56.0 percent (28-of-50) from the field, including 16-of-26 from behind the three-point arc for 61.5 percent. CCU had all nine players that saw action score, as Miriam Recarte (9), Helena Delaruelle (7), Amaya Adams (4), Angie Juste-Jean (3), and Anaya Barney (2) all scored in the road win.
 
Aided by Richardson's eight three-pointers, the Chants as a team made 16 treys, the most since the Chants made 15 versus Charleston Southern in March 2003.
 
Troy had five players reach double-digit scoring, as Amber Leggett scored a team-high 25 points, while Nia Daniel, Ja'Mia Hollings, Jashanti Simmons, and Makayia Hallmon chipped in with 20, 18, 13, and 11 points apiece. Aside from leading the team in scoring, Leggett grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds as the Trojans outrebounded Coastal Carolina 46-29 for the contest.
 
The Trojans opened the first-quarter scoring with a pair of free throws by Hallman before the Chanticleers answered with a 6-0 burst to take a 6-2 advantage, highlighted by the first of Richardson's eight three-point jump shots. However, Troy answered with an 8-0 run to take a 10-6 lead, only to see the visitors from Conway, S.C., answer with five quick points to take the lead at 11-10.
 
Both teams traded the next 18 points, as Coastal Carolina maintained the one-point advantage at 20-19 with two minutes left in the opening period. After four quick points by Troy, CCU closed the first quarter with a 7-2 run, as Delaruelle sandwiched a layup by Barney with a three-pointer and a layup of her own as Coastal held a two-point lead at 27-25 after 10 minutes of action.
 
The home team opened the second quarter by sandwiching a Coastal three-pointer by Richardson with a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays to take a 31-30 advantage. The two teams traded the next 27 points to put the score at 44-44, highlighted by four Coastal Carolina three-pointers.
 
Coastal jumped to a three-point lead at 51-48 by outscoring the Trojans 7-4. However, Troy made 3-of-4 shots from the free throw line along with a mid-range jump shot for a 5-3 run to close out the first-half scoring to trail 54-53 at the halftime break.
 
In the third quarter, Coastal opened the largest lead of the game at 71-63, as the Chants outscored the Trojans 17-10, ignited by a Newsome three-point jump shot and capped off by a layup by Richardson. Troy fought back to take a two-point lead to end the third period at 74-72 with an 11-1 burst.
 
In the final period, the two teams traded three points from the free throw line with Coastal's Freeman and Richardson making 2-of-4, as the Chants trailed 75-74. After the home team took a three-point lead at 79-76, CCU answered with three-straight long-range three-point jumpers to retake the lead, that it would not relinquish, at 85-79 and forced the Trojans to call a timeout.
 
With 5:19 remaining in the game, Coastal Carolina scored its final 14 points from the free throw line by going 14-of-20, while Troy was 6-of-12 from the floor and 6-of-10 from the charity stripe for the final margin of 99-97.
 
Coastal Carolina will remain on the road, as the Chanticleers wrap up its final road game of the season in Statesboro, Ga., versus the Georgia Southern Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 18 with the tip-off 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.