Women's Hoops Hosts Radford Monday Night in Big South Matchup
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Coastal Women’s Basketball Hosts Radford Monday Night
The Coastal Carolina University women’s basketball team (9-5, 0-1 Big South) looks to get back on the winning track Monday, Jan. 15 as the Lady Chanticleers host Radford (9-6, 1-0 Big South) at 7 p.m., in Kimbel Arena. The game can be heard on
www.GoCCUSports.com with Garry Griffith on the call. The game also will be video streamed on THE EDGE at www.BigSouthSports.com. Coastal lost its first game in Kimbel Arena this season, 58-54, against Liberty in its last contest. This game ends a five-game homestand and a seven-game stretch in the Conway/Myrtle Beach area for the Lady Chants.
Scouting Radford
Radford enters Conway as one of the hottest teams in the Big South, having won five straight including a 77-53 win over Charleston Southern in their Big South opener. Sarah Stephens came off the bench, scoring 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the win over CSU. Radford has a balanced scoring attack, led by Corrie Fertitta’s 10.5 points per game. Radford has five players averaging at least eight points per game. Fertitta also is averaging 8.1 rebounds a contest.
Radford is coached by Jeri Porter, who is in her fifth year with the Highlanders. She has a 59-68 record at the school and a 123-113 career record.
Series vs. Radford
Radford leads the all-time series with Coastal 32-11, but the two teams each won on their home court last season. Coastal defeated Radford 73-61 in Conway, behind double-doubles from Calisha Yates (Columbus, Ind./Chattanooga State C.C.) and Kim Turner. Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) added nine assists in the win. The Highlanders defeated CCU 66-46 in Radford. Coastal has won the last four games vs. Radford in Kimbel Arena.
Dill Third in Nation in Scoring Average
Senior Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) is averaging 22.8 points per game after 14 contests, good for third in points per game in NCAA Division I basketball. Dill set a new career high with 33 points in a 58-33 win over Campbell Dec. 11. She has scored 26 or more points on six occasions this year and now has 1,009 career points. She is coming off a 25-point performance against Liberty Jan. 13.
Carrie Moore of Western Michigan leads the nation with 25.7 points per game, followed by Courtney Paris of Oklahoma (23.4).
Dill Scores Her 1,000th Point vs. Liberty
Senior Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) became the 10th player in Coastal women’s basketball history to score 1,000 points in a career Jan. 13 against LIberty. Her three-pointer with 5:22 left in the game gave her 1,001 points. She ended the contest with 25 points, upping her career total to 1,009. Dill also is the 51st player in Big South history to reach the 1,000-point mark. Dill now needs 21 points to pass Mary Perry and move into ninth place in the school scoring mark.
Statistically Speaking
Coastal Carolina and Radford boast the top two marks in scoring margin and turnover margin in the Big South Conference. The two schools also are two and three in rebounding margin. Radford has a +12.8 scoring margin, followed by Coastal’s +11.1. Radford leads in turnover margin (+4.0) while the Lady Chants have +3.4 margin. Radford is second in rebounding margin (+3.0) with Coastal coming in third (+1.4).
Rivers Stuffs Stat Sheet vs. Flames
Freshman Devin Rivers (Miami, Fla./Felix Varela) played 21 minutes off the bench against Liberty Jan. 13, scoring nine points, grabbing six rebounds, blocking three shots and coming up with two steals. Rivers set a career high in both points and blocks and is tied for the team lead with 23 steals.
I See a Pattern
Coastal enters the Big South opener having won nine games in non-conference action. Coastal also had nine wins heading into the opener last season. Coastal ended last season with 18 wins, going 7-7 in conference. Coastal will have one more non-conference game, Feb. 5 at Savannah State.
Blanchard Breaks Out Against Savannah State
Junior Victoria Blanchard (Eutawville, S.C./Walters State C.C.) had a breakout game against Savannah State Jan. 9, achieving career highs in points (21), rebounds (8), assists (4) and steals (2) in the 71-51 win over the Tigers. Blanchard was 9-of-13 from the field and connected on all three of her free-throw attempts. She also had six offensive boards. The junior is averaging 5.4 points and 4.2 rebounds a contest.
Chants Find Success at Charity Stripe
A big reason for Coastal’s 20-point win over Savannah State Jan. 9 was its success at the free-throw line. The Lady Chanticleers went 17-of-21 from the line, good for 81 percent. Senior Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) hit 6-of-7 attempts, while three players hit three apiece.
Guards Getting Boards vs. Tigers
Junior Victoria Blanchard (Eutawville, S.C./Walters State C.C.) and freshman Amanda Stull (Rushville, Ind./Rushville Consolidated) had eight rebounds apiece in the 71-51 win over Savannah State Jan. 9. In fact, Coastal guards combined for 25 of the team’s 46 rebounds.
Lyons Earning National Recognition for Three-Point Shooting
Freshman Lacey Lyons (Beverly Hills, Fla./Crystal River) has reappeared on the national rankings in both three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals per game. Lyons currently is 29th in the country in three-point field goal percentage at 42.3 percent (as of Jan. 11). The current leader nationally is Sidney Spencer of Tennessee at 54.3 percent. Lyons also is 58th in the nation in three-point field goals per game (2.3/g). Chandice Crock of Santa Clara is the leader at 3.8/g.
Chants Live in Paint in Win over Coker
Coastal Carolina scored 38 of its 77 points in the paint in the 77-43 win over Coker Jan. 4. The Lady Chants also used their size advantage to grab 48 rebounds and block seven shots. Freshman Devin Rivers (Miami, Fla./Felix Varela) and senior Calisha Yates (Columbus, Ind./Chattanooga State C.C.) led the team with seven rebounds, while senior Kristy Yurichak (Walton Hills, Ohio/Lakeland C.C.) had a team-high four blocks.
Coastal Finds Range from Behind the Arc
Coastal leads the Big South and is 33rd in the country in three-point field goal percentage, shooting at a 36.8 clip from behind the line. Coastal hit 11 three pointers in a 73-43 win over Converse Dec. 31, as five different players got into the act. The national leader in three-point field goal percentage is Montana at 42.3 percent.
Career Highs Fall in Converse Win
There were several career highs set in the 73-43 win over Converse Dec. 31. Freshman Lori Whitaker (Bloomington, Ind./North) set a career high in scoring with 10 points. Senior Vanessa Laug (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) tied her career high with eight rebounds in the win. Freshman Amanda Stull (Rushville, Ind./Rushville Consolidated) set a career high with eight assists, which also is a season high for a Coastal player.
Defense Especially Tough From Outside the Arc
The Coastal Carolina defense is holding its opponents to just 24.8 percent from three-point range this season. This includes holding UNC Greensboro to just 2-of-10 from three in a 64-54 loss Dec. 16. Meanwhile, the Coastal offense is shooting 36.6 percent from behind the arc, led by freshman Lacey Lyons’ (Beverly Hills, Fla./Crystal River) 41.9 percent.
Ware in Giving Mood
Junior C.J. Ware (Decatur, Ga./Lakeside) tied her career high with seven assists in a 71-51 win over Savannah State Jan. 9. The junior point guard leads the team with 3.5 assists per game and also is averaging 3.5 rebounds a contest.
Coastal Sweeps Weekly Big South Honors for Second Straight Week
Coastal Carolina’s Alisha Dill was named the Big South Conference Choice Hotels Player of the Week in women’s basketball, while teammate Lacey Lyons was tabbed New Balance Freshman of the Week for games played Dec. 18-Jan. 1, the League announced.
Dill, a senior from Johnson City, Tenn., averaged 18.3 points per game over the holiday break to lead her Lady Chanticleers to a 2-1 record. She got her week started with 11 points against No. 2 North Carolina on Dec. 18. Two days later against UNC Wilmington, she put in 29 points as she connected on 44 percent from the floor and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. She also added 11-of-12 from the charity stripe for 92 percent in the win against the Seahawks. She closed her week out with 15 points in just 21 minutes as Coastal Carolina downed Converse on Dec. 31. In the three-game span, Dill was 41 percent from the floor on 17-of-42 shots and hit 44 percent of her shots from downtown (4-of-9). She was 17-of-20 at the line for 85 percent, and she also notched 12 rebounds, seven assists and five steals in the three games.
Lyons, a forward from Beverly Hills, Fla., averaged 15.7 points per game and shot 52 percent from the floor for Coastal Carolina during the holiday break. She scored in double figures in each of the three contests, including 19 points against No. 2 UNC on Dec. 18. She connected on 16-of-31 from the floor in the three-game span and was 50 percent from downtown on 12-of-24 shots. She also finished with five boards, two blocks and one assist for the Lady Chants.
Freshman Racking Up Big South Honors
Coastal Carolina freshman Amanda Stull (Rushville, Ind./Rushville Consolidated), Lacey Lyons (Beverly Hills, Fla./Crystal River) and Devin Rivers (Miami, Fla./Felix Varela) have each won Big South Freshman of the Week honors this season. They become the 11th trio in Big South history to earn the honor by one team in the same season. Last season, Liberty’s Megan Frazee, Moriah Frazee and Rebecca Lightfoot all earned the honors.
Dill Ices Win from Free-Throw Line
Senior Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) set a Coastal season high by going 11-of-12 from the free-throw line in the 66-59 win over UNC Wilmington Dec. 20. This included hitting four clutch free throws in the final minute to extend the Coastal lead from one to five. On the year, Dill is hitting 72.0 percent from the line, but is 90.9 percent in the last five minutes with a 10 or under scoring margin.
Lyons Finds Form vs. #2 Tar Heels
Freshman Lacey Lyons (Beverly Hills, Fla./Crystal River) went 7-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-9 from three-point range, for 19 points against #2 North Carolina Dec. 18. Lyons upped her scoring average to 9.6 points per game and is tied for the team lead with 31 three pointers. Also, only three players have scored more points against the Tar Heels this season than Lyons - Tennessee’s Candace Parker (27), Clemson’s Tasha Taylor (27) and Gonzaga’s Jami Bjorklund (21).
Coastal Sweeps Big South Awards
Coastal Carolina’s Alisha Dill has been named the Big South Conference Choice Hotels Player of the Week in women’s basketball, while teammate Devin Rivers was tabbed New Balance Freshman of the Week for games played Dec. 11-17, the League announced.
Dill, a senior from Johnson City, Tenn., averaged 28.0 points per game to lead the Lady Chanticleers to a 2-1 record on the week. She got her week started with 33 points on 13-of-26 for 50 percent from the floor and 5-of-13 from downtown as CCU downed Campbell, 58-33 on Dec. 11. Two days later, the guard connected on 10-of-18 from the field (56 percent) and added two treys and two free throws for 24 points to lead the Lady Chants to the win over North Greenville. She capped her week off with 27 points, including five treys in Coastal’s game against UNC Greensboro on Dec. 16. For the week, Dill hit 32-of-66 shots from the floor for 49 percent and shot 43 percent from beyond the arc (12-of-28), and posted 14 boards, seven assists and seven steals. Dill currently ranks No. 2 in the country in scoring, averaging 24.8 points per contest.
Rivers, a center from Miami, Fla., averaged 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 points per game on the week. She got her week started with seven boards against Campbell on Dec. 11 and followed that performance with a career-high eight points and eight rebounds against North Greenville two days later. On Dec. 16 at UNCG, she closed her week out with three points and two rebounds in the loss to the Spartans.
Dill Also Block Shot Leader
Senior Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) blocked three UNC Greensboro shots in the 64-54 loss Dec. 16. She now has 13 blocks on the year, good for the team lead.
Ware Sets Career High In Rebounds
Junior C.J. Ware (Decatur, Ga./Lakeside) set a career best by grabbing eight rebounds in a 64-54 loss to UNC Greensboro Dec. 16. The point guard led all players with the eight boards and now is averaging 3.5 rebounds a game.
Coastal Defense Stingy in Win over Campbell
The Coastal Carolina defense held Campbell to just 20 percent shooting and 33 points in the 58-33 win over the Fighting Camels Dec. 11. Campbell was just 1-of-15 from three-point range and was held to its lowest scoring output in school history. Coastal’s defense forced Campbell into 22 turnovers and senior Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) led the charge with three steals.
Coastal now has given up 43.1 points in the seven games at Kimbel Arena this season. Coastal started the home campaign with a 90-31 win over Southern Virginia and held North Greenville to 46 points Dec. 13. Coastal is scoring 71.0 points a game in Kimbel, which is good for a +27.4 scoring margin.
Dill Feeling It in Win over Camels
Senior Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) continued her breakout senior campaign with a 33-point outburst against Campbell Dec. 11. Dill was 13-of-26 from the field, hit five-three pointers and had five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot. Dill became the third player in the Big South this season to score 30 or more points, joining freshman teammate Lacey Lyons (Beverly Hills, Fla./Crystal River) and Liberty’s Megan Frazee. She also has scored 26 or more points in a game six times this season.
Lyons Named Big South Freshman of the Week
Coastal Carolina freshman women’s basketball player Lacey Lyons (Beverly Hills, Fla./Crystal River) was selected as the Big South Conference New Balance Freshman of the Week for games played Nov. 20-26, the League announced.
Lyons, a forward from Beverly Hills, Fla., posted 15.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, including 30 points against Howard, to lead the Lady Chanticleers to a 2-1 record on the week. She got things going with 11 points and seven boards in CCU’s 90-31 win over Southern Virginia on Nov. 20. Against IPFW on Nov. 25, she put in five points and notched one board for Coastal. The next day against Howard, Lyons caught fire as she was 10-of-12 from the floor (83 percent), 6-of-8 from three-point land (75 percent) and was perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line for Coastal Carolina. She also chipped in six boards in the contest as CCU dropped the Lady Bison, 85-78. For the week, she was 56 percent from the floor on 15-of-27 shots, 59 percent from beyond the arc on 10-of-17 tries and was perfect from the line, connecting on all six attempts.
Coastal Puts Up Points Against Howard
Coastal Carolina shot 48.3 percent from the floor, including 54.5 percent from three-point range, in its 85-78 win over Howard Nov. 26. The 85 points were the highest scored by Coastal against a Division I opponent since Feb. 1, 2003 in a 96-94 triple-overtime win over Radford.
De-Fense, De-Fense
Coastal Carolina held Southern Virginia to 31 points Nov. 20, the second lowest point total in school history by an opponent. Southern Virginia shot 25.5 percent and went 1-of-15 from the three-point line. The school record for lowest points in a game by an opponent is 23 by Coker during the 1982-83 season.
Stull Named Big South Freshman of the Week
Coastal Carolina freshman women’s basketball player Amanda Stull (Rushville, Ind./Rushville Consolidated) was selected as the Big South Conference New Balance Freshman of the Week for games played Nov. 13-19, the League announced.
Stull, a guard, connected on all four of her shots from the field and posted eight points in Coastal’s 70-56 win over the College of Charleston Nov. 16. She also dished out two assists and came up with three steals and one rebound for the Lady Chants in the win.
Stull becomes Coastal’s first Big South Freshman of the Week since Whitney Shearer was named on Feb. 5, 2001.
Coastal Improves in Season Openers with Win over CofC
Coastal Carolina improved to 8-2 in season openers under head coach Alan LeForce with its 70-56 win over the College of Charleston Nov. 16. Coastal shot 51 percent from the field in winning its second straight opener on the road.
New Kids on the Block
Coastal played four newcomers in the win over the Cougars and they combined for 21 points and eight rebounds. Junior Victoria Blanchard (Eutawville, S.C./Walters State C.C.) made her first career start and had seven points and two assists. Freshman Amanda Stull (Rushville, Ind./Rushville Consolidated) was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field for eight points while adding two assists. Freshman Lacey Lyons (Beverly Hills, Fla./Crystal River) hit two big three-pointers for six points, while freshman Devin Rivers (Miami, Fla./Felix Varela) had five rebounds and three assists.
Chanticleers Picked Fourth in the Big South
The Coastal Carolina University women’s basketball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Big South Conference’s annual preseason poll, as voted on by the League’s Head Coaches, Sports Information Directors and media panel. The announcement was made Oct. 10 in Charlotte, N.C., as part of the 2006-07 Tip-Off Media Luncheon.
Coastal received 117 points in the preseason poll. Liberty was picked to finish first for the 10th year in a row, as the Lady Flames garnered 21 first-place votes and finisihing with 202 points. The Lady Flames were followed by High Point (178 points, four first-place votes), Winthrop (136 points), Coastal, Radford (115 points, one first-place vote), UNC Asheville (100 points), Birmingham-Southern and Charleston Southern (44 points apiece).
Head Coach Alan LeForce
Coastal head coach Alan LeForce (Cumberland (Ky.) ’57) is starting his 10th season as the Lady Chanticleers’ mentor. He has a 134-132 record at CCU and a 374-312 overall record in 24 seasons as a head coach. LeForce is the all-time winningest women’s basketball coach in CCU history and is the only coach to win 100 games in both Division I men’s and women’s basketball.
New Faces for the Chants
Coastal Carolina has eight players on its roster that will play their first Division I season. Five of the eight newcomers are true freshmen, as Lauren Grochowski (Naperville, Ill./Central), Lacey Lyons (Beverly Hills, Fla./Crystal River), Devin Rivers (Miami, Fla./Felix Varela), Amanda Stull (Rushville, Ind./Rushville Consolidated) and Lori Whitaker (Bloomington, Ind./North) are just out of high school. Elizabeth Weaver (Unicoi, Tenn./Unicoi County) redshirted her first season at CCU, while Victoria Blanchard (Holly Hill, S.C./Holly Hill-Roberts) transferred from Walters State Community College. Heather Hummel (Franklin, Pa./Rocky Grove) transferred from Slippery Rock and will have one season of eligibility remaining.
Laug Starts Redshirt Senior Campaign
Redshirt senior Vanessa Laug (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) started her fifth season Thursday night against the College of Charleston. Laug redshirted during the 2002-03 campaign with a knee injury after playing four games for the Lady Chants. Laug has 224 points and 219 rebounds in her Coastal career.
All CCU Games to be Broadcast on the Internet
The Coastal Carolina University women’s basketball team will have every regular-season and post-season game broadcast on the internet during the 2006-07 season, the first time in school history that every minute of CCU women’s basketball will be on the air. Beginning with the season opener Nov. 16 against the College of Charleston, all 28 games will be available on www.GoCCUSports.com. The broadcast will start 10 minutes prior to tipoff.
In addition, every post-season game, beginning with the 2007 Advance Auto Parts Big South Tournament March 8 in Asheville, N.C., will be broadcast on both www.GoCCUSports.com and THE TEAM 93.9 FM in Myrtle Beach.
Big South to Video Stream All Women’s Basketball Conference Games
For the first time in League history, the Big South Conference will video stream live its women’s basketball home Conference games free on the its premium content website, The Big South EDGE presented by Aéropostale, it was announced by Big South Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander. All Conference games involving Big South members will be available exclusively online beginning with the 2006-07 season, and the webcasts will utilize a one-to-three camera production with home audio, when available.
Coastal’s first game on the EDGE will be Jan. 13 against Liberty in Kimbel Arena at 2 p.m.
CCU Signs Four Student-Athletes to National Letters-of-Intent
The Coastal Carolina University women’s basketball program has signed four student-athletes to National Letters-of-Intent, head coach Alan LeForce announced Nov. 9.
"We feel like we’ve added another strong class," LeForce said. "We think this group is every bit as good as the recruiting class last year. We’ve had two straight strong recruiting classes and that’s the way you build a program. We feel very good about it. We’ll still be young as we’ll have 10 freshmen and sophomores for next season, but they are good players."
The following is a list of the student-athletes coming to Coastal Carolina in 2007-08.
Name Pos. Ht. Hometown
Courtney Grambley F 6-1 Morrow, Ohio
Kate Jasinski G 5-6 Birmingham, Ala.
Jessica Noll F 6-0 Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Katie White C 6-3 St. Charles, Ill.
Coastal Loses Scoring from Last Season
Coastal Carolina graduated 59.6 percent of its scoring off last year’s team, including two double-digit scorers in Amber Rose (11.5 ppg) and Kim Turner (11.0 ppg). Coastal does return Alisha Dill and Calisha Yates, who averaged 11.3 and 9.4 points per game, respectively.
Injury Report
Freshman Lauren Grochowski (Naperville, Ill./Central) is out for tonight’s game with an injury.
Ware Controls Point
Junior C.J. Ware (Decatur, Ga./Lakeside) will be the starting point guard for the Lady Chants to start the season. Ware was second on the team with 61 assists last season and added 35 steals. Ware started 26 of Coastal’s 28 games in 2005-06 and averaged 2.8 points per game.
Up Next
Coastal will have a road game for the first time since Dec. 16 as the Lady Chanticleers face UNC Asheville Saturday, Jan. 20 in Asheville, N.C. Game time is at 3 p.m.
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