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Women's Basketball Ends Four-Game Road Trip at Liberty Monday Night

       

Women's Basketball Ends Four-Game Road Trip at Liberty Monday Night

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Date: Monday, Jan. 26, 2009 Time: 7 p.m. At: Lynchburg, Va. – Vines Center Series: Liberty leads 36-7 Radio: THE TEAM 93.9 FM (Chris Burgin and Randy Clemens) Live Stats: Game Day Central at www.GoCCUsports.com Live Video: www.BigSouthSports.com   Opening Tip Coastal Carolina will attempt to snap a 29-game losing skid against Liberty tonight. The Lady Flames have owned the series between the two squads for the past 13 years, having claimed 29 straight victories over the Chanticleers. Sophomore Sydnei Moss is averaging 14.2 points in Big South Conference play and is coming off a 16-point performance in a 65-56 loss at Radford, Jan. 24. Liberty is the lone unbeaten team in the Big South and will be looking for its ninth-straight victory of the season and its 30th consecutive win over the Chants. The Lady Flames are led by Megan Frazee, who is averaging 19 points a contest in Big South play.   Scouting the Lady Flames (11-7, 5-0 Big South) Liberty is the only team that remains undefeated in Big South action at 5-0. The Lady Flames started the season with a tough schedule, playing two top 20 teams including No. 6 Auburn (19-0), who is one of the two unbeaten teams in the country alongside No. 1 Connecticut (19-0). After starting the season 1-7, Liberty has played to a 10-1 record in its last 11 and enters tonight’s contest riding an eight-game winning streak. Megan Frazee has played 10 games and leads the team in scoring averaging 20 points per game shooting 49.3 percent from the floor and added 9.6 rebounds. During conference play, Liberty has outrebounded its opponents 41.2 to 26.8 and outscored its Big South competition 64-48.2 on average. No team in the Big South has scored over 51 points on the Lady Flames, which eight of the 12 teams prior to conference play were able to achieve. Liberty’s Avery Warley is shooting 58.7 percent from the field and leads the Big South in field goal percentage.   Series vs. Liberty Series Record: Liberty leads 36-7 Liberty swept the two-game series last season, making it 29 consecutive victories over the Chanticleers. Junior Amanda Stull had 13 points in two games and Liberty outscored the Chants 71.3-41.5 in the two contests. Coastal Carolina’s last victory over the Lady Flames was February 19, 1996, when the Chanticleers claimed the 70-55 win. Coastal Carolina almost snapped the losing streak February 17, 2007, but lost a heartbreaker to the Lady Flames when a late three-point attempt fell short at the buzzer leaving Liberty with a 58-56 victory.    CHANTICLEER NOTEBOOK   Here You Go... Coastal Carolina averaged only 15.6 turnovers a game entering its last contest but managed to turn the ball over 23 times in a 65-56 loss to Radford (Jan. 24). The Highlanders turned the ball over only eight times for a Coastal Carolina opponents’ season low.   Can Someone Extinguish the Flame? Liberty is 5-0 in the Big South this season and 10-0 in conference play dating back to last season when they finished 11-1. The only team to defeat the Lady Flames last year was Winthrop, who handed Liberty a 56-52 loss Feb. 27, 2008.   Coastal Green? Liberty Head Coach Carey Green graduated from Coastal Carolina University in 1979. In his 10 years as head coach, Green holds a 21-0 record against his alma mater.   Moss Getting it Done Sophomore Sydnei Moss is averaging 14.2 points and 5.8 boards per contest in Big South action. Moss led the team in scoring coming off the bench with 18 points and added nine rebounds in the Big South opening win over UNC Asheville (Jan. 3). The North Augusta native then scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds against High Point (Jan. 5), followed by 11 points and six rebounds at Charleston Southern (Jan. 10). Moss recorded her fifth-straight game in double figures scoring 16 points at Radford (Jan. 24).   Grambley Picks Up Offense After scoring seven points in two Big South games, redshirt freshman Courtney Grambley netted a career-high 14 points against Winthrop (Jan. 17) in her third league game. Grambley came off the bench five minutes into the first half to spark the Chanticleer offense with eight points in the opening frame. Grambley continued to put points on the scoreboard, shot 50 percent from the field and pulled down six rebounds in the game.   Defense Getting it Done In Coastal Carolina’s 10 wins this season, the Chants have limited their opponents to 45.5 points per game and their strong defense has forced teams to shoot 31.1 percent from the field. When Coastal Carolina is on the losing end, it has surrendered 70.3 points per game to its competition. On the glass, Coastal Carolina holds a 422-383 advantage over opponents when it is victorious, but slips behind 303-220 on boards in its seven losses. They have also generated 210 opponent turnovers, posted 34 blocks and average 10.3 steals per game in 10 victories this season.   Getting to the Line The Chants are shooting 67.4 percent from the free throw line to sit in third place in the Big South. However, the significant number here is Coastal Carolina has gone to the line 377 times, the most in the conference. The Chanticleers were sent to the foul line 34 times (24-of-34) at Alabama State (Dec. 29) and went 25-for-29 at Wofford (Nov. 19).   First Impressions Count! Coastal Carolina is 9-2 when leading at the half. The Chanticleers are averaging 29.8 points in the first half and limiting opponents to 18.4 points in the opening frame in the 11 games. The Chanticleers have edged out opponents by one point in the first half twice, but gave up the lead on both occasions (at College of Charleston 32-31, vs. High Point 37-36). On the season, Coastal Carolina is averaging 26.8 points in the first 20 minutes, while shooting 34.8 percent from the floor.   Sidelined for the Season Junior Lori Whitaker is expected to redshirt this season, while transfer Lindsey Waters will sit out due to NCAA transfer rules. Redshirt junior Elizabeth Weaver played five games this year, but will miss the rest of the season due to injury.   It’s Block and White Sophomore Katie White tied a Coastal Carolina program record for most blocks in a single game, tallying seven against UNC Wilmington (Dec. 18). White’s defensive prowess led her to five first half blocks, and she rejected two more shots in the second frame. The 6-3 center has a team-leading 31 blocks this season, and is second in the league at 2.1 per game.   30 Minutes and Counting... In the first four Big South games, Coastal Carolina has three players averaging more than 30 minutes. Junior Kendra Reynolds averages 33.6 minutes and classmate Amanda Stull is playing 33.6 minutes, while sophomore Kate Jasinski has earned 32 minutes a game.   Road Testing the Chants Coastal Carolina is 3-6 on the road this season after picking up its first road victory  since South Carolina State (Dec. 16) with a 51-34 victory at Winthrop (Jan. 17).The Chanticleers have been outscored 63.9-49.6 and allowed opponents to grab 44.7 rebounds, while collecting only 33.4 boards in the six losses. The scoring margin road is -9.3, while the rebounding margin sits at -11.2 in nine road games.   Stull Accepting Charity, Reynolds Wants In Junior Amanda Stull has gone to the free throw line 101 times in 18 games. Stull earned her way to line 18 times at Alabama State (Dec. 29), where she converted 13 freebies. On the season, she is second in the Big South shooting 80.2 percent from the charity stripe. The Rushville native has gone 81-for-101, which includes two 8-for-8 performances against Wofford (Nov. 19) and Southern Virginia (Nov. 30), and a 7-for-7 outing against UNC Asheville (Jan. 3). Junior Kendra Reynolds is getting used to being at the line too after sitting out the first 10 contests due to NCAA transfer rules. During the past nine games, Reynolds has gone 21-for-26 at the foul line to shoot 80.8 percent this season.   Rookie Roundup Even as a junior, Kendra Reynolds is still a rookie for the Chanticleers, but Reynolds is playing as a veteran. Reynolds has picked up three double-doubles in nine games and set a personal best of 18 points at Charleston Southern (Jan. 10). Freshmen Olivia Irick and Taylor Epley have earned playing time as well. Irick is averaging 4.1 points a game and has knocked down 10 three-pointers, while Epley is adding 1.7 rebounds per contest.   S-E-N-I-O-R-S? Coastal Carolina’s 2008-09 roster lists no seniors. This is the first time in Head Coach Alan LeForce’s 12 years he will be missing that senior leadership. However, the 2008-09 squad is rich in talent and experience. LeForce believes this is one of the most talented groups he and his staff have ever assembled at Coastal Carolina.   Up Next GARDNER-WEBB Date: Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009 Time: 2 p.m. At: Kimbel Arena - Conway, S.C. Series Record: First meeting Gardner-Webb at a Glance: Gardner-Webb is new to the Big South Conference this season and has posted a 2-4 record in the conference and are 9-9 overall. The Bulldogs picked up their first Big South victory ever defeating Charleston Southern 60-50 (Jan. 17) and defeated Winthrop in their last outing 54-53.