CONWAY, S.C. – Junior guard
Arin Freeman scored a game-high 20 points for Coastal Carolina, but it was not enough as Old Dominion pulled away for a 71-57 win in a Sun Belt Conference women's basketball game Wednesday night at the HTC Center.
The Monarchs led by as many as 24 points in the second half, improving their record to 11-3 overall and 3-1 in the league. En'Dya Buford and Kaye Clark each had 14 points to lead Old Dominion's balanced scoring attack as 12 different players tallied points.
Freeman also had a season-high eight rebounds and was the only player in double figures for the Chanticleers, who dropped to 7-10 overall and 1-3 in the Sun Belt. Freeman was 6-of-11 from the field and finished just a point off her season-high of 21 points, but the rest of the team went just 14-of-49 (28 percent) from the floor. Freeman played 31 minutes, but the difference came early when the team's playmaker sat out eight minutes of the second quarter with foul trouble.
"The way Freeman is playing right now, we just need her in the game," said Coastal's head coach
Kevin Pederson. "The way we played tonight is not good enough to win many games. We just have to hit the film study and get better."
The two teams traded baskets for the first 12 minutes, but when Freeman went to the bench with her second foul, Old Dominion went to work, taking what was just a 16-15 advantage and turning it into a 35-19 lead at the half. The Monarchs rattled off the last 12 points of the second period while keeping Coastal scoreless for the final 4:19 of that period.
Freeman kept the Chants in the game with her nine points before picking up her second foul with 8:12 left in the second quarter. ODU outscored Coastal 23-9 in the second quarter, with Buford getting eight of her 11 in the period.
The lead grew to 21 points at 52-31 midway through the third quarter before Coastal stopped the bleeding with an 8-0 run that brought the Chants to within 13, but they could not get any closer. Clark led Old Dominion's 13-2 response and the lead was back up to 24 at 65-41. Coastal closed out the game by outscoring ODU 16-6.
Coastal finished 20-of-60 from the field, but just 3-of-20 from beyond the three-point line. The Chants also suffered 21 turnovers and had just six assists.
Coastal will conclude its four-game home series by hosting Marshall on Saturday at 1 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.
