CONWAY, S.C. – Deaja Richardson scored a game-high 22 points and Coastal Carolina used a 13-0 run in the closing minutes to pull away for a 74-62 win over Georgia State in the final regular season Sun Belt Conference women's basketball game for both teams Friday night at the HTC Center.
The score was tied at 57-57 midway into the fourth quarter before Coastal broke open a close contest by scoring 13 consecutive points while holding Georgia State without a point for five minutes.
Richardson was one of three Coastal players to hit double figures, as
Arin Freeman added 17 points and
Makaila Cange had 16. It was the seventh time this season that Richardson, a graduate student from Kernersville, N.C., has reached 20 or more points. Freeman also dished out 10 assists for a double-double. The 5'7" junior guard from Little Rock, Ark., either scored or assisted on 17 of her team's 24 baskets. She was just three rebounds shy of a triple-double.
Coastal was in front by 17 points in the first quarter before needing to hang on for the win, which lifted the Chanticleers to 11-20 overall and 5-13 in the conference. It was the second time Coastal has defeated Georgia State this season. The Chants won the first meeting in Atlanta by 60-52.
Mikayla Tolivert led Georgia State with 16 points, including 11 in the last two quarters. With the loss, the Panthers finish the regular season 15-14 overall and 9-9 in the league.
Coastal wasted little time in taking control. The Chanticleers hit seven of their first 11 shots and put together a 23-4 run to lead Georgia State 25-7 late in the first quarter. Cange and Freeman started the scoring spree with four points apiece and Richardson finished it by scoring five of the last eight points. Coastal finished the quarter with seven assists on 10 baskets, five coming from Freeman, and a 28-9 lead.
However, the 17-point lead evaporated as the Chants opened the second quarter by going six minutes before getting a point. Meanwhile, the Panthers found their mark on three three-pointers and finished the quarter with a 7-0 run to pull within 33-27 at the half. In contrast to the electric first quarter, Coastal made only 2-of-10 shots and turned the ball over nine times. Richardson led the team with 10 points at the break, and Freeman wasn't far behind with seven points and six assists.
After Georgia State scored the first bucket of the third quarter, there were four ties and six lead changes before Coastal took the lead for good on Richardson's three-pointer that made the score 60-57 with six minutes remaining. Neither team led by more than four points after the first basket of the third quarter until Freeman made a steal and layup in the midst of Coastal's closing run.
Coastal out-rebounded Georgia State by 44-37, with
Alancia Ramsey leading her team with nine boards. Freeman had seven and Cange and
Riley Stack had six apiece.
Coastal now heads to the Sun Belt Conference Championship at the Pensacola (Fla.) Bay Center, beginning Tuesday.
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.
