CONWAY, S.C. – Savannah Brooks and Alancia Ramsey each scored 10 points, but Coastal Carolina couldn't hold on down the stretch and lost a heartbreaking 57-55 decision to Campbell in a first-round game of the Women's NIT Thursday night at the HTC Center.
 
Campbell didn't take the lead for good until the last minute of play when Campbell scored the last six points. Gianni Nunez hit a pair of free throws that were her only points of the game to give the Fighting Camels a 56-55 lead. Another free throw with 30 seconds left Coastal looking for a last-second win.

But the Chants had three shots on their final possession without finding the bottom of the basket.
 
"We ran out of gas at the end, and it showed," said a disappointed Coastal head coach Kevin Pederson. "When you go 2-for-18 from 3s, it's hard to win a game. I am proud of the jump we made this year. We did a lot of good things, but this is disappointing."
 
Coastal's loss leaves the Chants with a 23-9 overall record. Meanwhile, Campbell improved to 22-12 and moves on to a second-round game.
 
Coastal held a big advantage with 40 of its points in the paint, but it wasn't enough to overcome poor outside shooting and mediocre free throw shooting. Coastal was 0-for-14 in three-point shooting until Kristin Williams hit the team's first from long range midway through the final quarter.
 
Williams added a second three-pointer and Ramsey made a layup to give Coastal a 55-51 lead with two minutes remaining, but those were the last points the Chants would score.
 
Coastal jumped out to a 12-3 by hitting from close range, and the Chants never let up in driving to the basket. By halftime, Coastal had 22 of its 26 points in the paint and held a 26-19 lead. Jayden Marable and Jaylen Ponder each had six points to lead their team through the first two periods, and all of their buckets were from close range. No player for Campbell had more than four points at halftime.
 
Coastal finished just 2-of-18 from long range and made just 5-of-12 free throw attempts. Conversely, Campbell made eight three-pointers and hit 11-of-12 free throw attempts. The rebounding was nearly even, with Brooks and Marable leading the way with six apiece.
 
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