Conway, S.C. – Senior forward Makaila Cange scored a game-high 22 points and Coastal Carolina led from beginning to end in an 88-71 win over Southern Mississippi in a Sun Belt conference women's basketball game Wednesday night at the HTC Center. Cange was one of four players in double figures for the Chanticleers, who led by as many as 20 points in improving to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in the Sun Belt.
 
The 5'11" Cange, who hit 20 points for the second time this season, was helped by guards Arin Freeman, who had 21 points, and Deaja Richardson, who had 17. Dalanna Carter added 12 points. Cange also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds to register her fifth double-double of the year.
 
Domonique Davis, a senior guard who came into the game as the nation's 12th leading scorer at 21 points a game, had 21 points to lead Southern Miss, which lost its fifth consecutive game in falling to 7-5 overall and 0-2 in the league.
 
"It was great to see the balanced scoring, and what a game by Cange," said Coastal head coach Kevin Pederson after the game. "We played the strongest early season schedule in the conference and it showed. It made our players tougher and ready for conference play. We talk about the need to protect your home court and we did that tonight."
 
"We wanted to prove to everyone that we are a force to be reckoned with," said Cange, who hit 10-of-17 field goal attempts, including a three-pointer.
 
Cange got the Chants off to a torrid start, scoring the team's first nine points, giving CCU a 9-5 lead. Coastal then went on an 8-0 run to claim a 23-10 advantage. Cange already had 13 points and Coastal had a 29-14 lead after the first quarter.
 
However, Southern Miss recovered by scoring the first six points of the second period to pull the Lady Eagles to 29-20. USM cut the deficit to eight points midway through the second quarter at 33-25, but never got any closer the rest of the way. Coastal scored seven straight points to build an 18-point lead at 47-29, with 2:30 left in the second period. Southern Miss closed the period with the last six points to make it 47-35 at the half.
 
Cange had 16 at the break, while Richardson added 12. Coastal already had seven three-pointers and 15 assists. But equally important was that the Chants held Davis to just four points. She went scoreless for the first 15 minutes of action.
 
Coastal stopped the slide with four consecutive layups early in the third quarter to increase it sadvantage to 55-38. The Chants' largest lead of 20 points came on the heels of five consecutive points by Freeman, giving CCU a 74-54 lead with 6:45 remaining in the game.
 
In the end, Coastal had almost all of the statistics in its favor. The Chants shot 52 percent from the field (32-of-62), hit 8-of-19 three-point attempts, and made 16-of-19 free throws. They had 22 assists on those 32 buckets, and they held the rebounding advantage by 41-25. Eight players had at least two assists for Coastal, led by Freeman, who had five.
 
Coastal will stay at home for its next three games, starting with a contest against Troy at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday. Following that game, the Chants will host Old Dominion at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 10 and then Marshall at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13.
 
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.