Game 26

Coastal Carolina (9-16, 4-9)

at Charleston Southern (12-14, 6-7)

Lady Chants End Regular Season at Charleston Southern

Scouting Charleston Southern

Charleston Southern is coached by Stephanie Yelton, who is in her third year at CSU. She has a 46-63 overall and school record.

Coastal Carolina leads the series with Charleston Southern 36-27. In the first meeting between the two schools this season, Charleston Southern defeated the Lady Chants 56-50. Keena Wicker scored 24 points to led CSU, while junior Kim Turner (West Memphis, Ark./Hiwassee C.C.) had 15 points for Coastal. Head Coach Alan LeForce is 11-6 all-time against the Bucs.

With Coastal now two games out of sixth place and with High Point two games in front of UNC Asheville for second place, Coastal knows it will head to High Point for the opening round of the Advance Auto Parts Big South Tournament Tuesday, March 8. The game will be a repeat of last year’s opening round game, which Coastal won 68-62.

Junior Kim Turner (West Memphis, Ark./Hiwassee C.C.) celebrated her birthday in style March 2 against Birmingham-Southern. Turner had a game high 22 points and a career high 15 rebounds in the 68-53 loss. She also had two assists, three blocks and three steals against the Panthers.

Junior Amber Rose (Bloomington Springs, Tenn./Upperman) returned to the hardwood for the first time in eight games in a 52-48 loss to UNC Asheville. Rose went 4-of-5 from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range. She had not played since an elbow injury in the Winthrop game Jan. 22.

Seniors Courtney Brown (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) and Lucia Popovici (Edmonton, Alberta/Jasper Place) were honored on Senior Day before the UNC Asheville game. The duo have combined to score 980 points and grab 704 rebounds in their Coastal careers.

Junior Kim Turner (West Memphis, Ark./Hiwassee C.C.) scored 18 points and grabbed a career high 13 rebounds in the 59-53 win over Savannah State Feb. 24. Turner also had 17 points and 11 rebounds in a 61-52 loss to High Point Feb. 15. It was the second and third double-doubles of the season for a Coastal player. Junior Demaria Young (Memphis, Tenn./Walters State C.C.) went for 14 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Charleston Southern Jan. 29.

Freshman C.J. Ware (Decatur, Ga./Lakeside) hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 2:04 to preserve a 59-53 win over Savannah State Feb. 24. On the season, Ware is 13-of-17 from the free throw line.

Coastal Carolina did not back down in crunch time in its 50-46 win over Radford Feb. 19. The Lady Chants hit 3-of-4 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws in the last four minutes against the Highlanders. Radford tied the game twice with under two minutes to go, but junior Kim Turner (West Memphis, Ark./Hiwassee C.C.) and freshman C.J. Ware (Decatur, Ga./Lakeside) preserved the win for Coastal.

Coastal Carolina has been on fire from the free-throw line in wins over Birmingham-Southern and Winthrop. The Lady Chants were 16-of-19 (.842) from the charity stripe, while sophomore Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) was a perfect 5-of-5 from the line. Coastal was 11-of-13 from the line in an eight-point win over Winthrop Feb. 12.

Coastal had 18 assists on 19 made field goals in the 53-45 win over Winthrop Feb. 12. Junior Demaria Young (Memphis, Tenn./Walters State C.C.) and senior Courtney Brown (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) both had career highs in assists with seven and six, respectively.

Junior Kim Turner (West Memphis, Ark./Hiwassee C.C.) went 9-of-16 from the field to score a game-high 20 points in a 53-45 win over Winthrop. The junior missed the Birmingham-Southern game Feb. 7 due to an injury. Turner did not start the Winthrop game, but played 25 minutes off the bench.

Coastal Carolina outrebounded Birmingham-Southern 43-25 in its 55-42 win over Birmingham-Southern Feb. 7. The Lady Chants had three players with eight or more rebounds, inlcuidng junior Demaria Young (Memphis, Tenn./Walters State C.C.) 10 boards. Senior Courtney Brown (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) had nine rebounds, while sophomore Vanessa Laug (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) had a career high eight. The plus-18 rebounding margin was the highest by the Lady Chants this season.

Senior Courtney Brown (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) and junior Demaria Young (Memphis, Tenn./Walters State C.C.) both grabbed 10 rebounds in the 56-50 loss to Charleston Southern Jan. 29. Young made it her first career double-double, adding 14 points. It was also Coastal’s first double-double of the season. Young is averaging 6.7 points and 4.1 rebounds this season.

Coastal Carolina has used 11 different starting lineups in the first 25 games. Junior Kim Turner (West Memphis, Ark./Hiwassee C.C.) started the first 17 games, but sat out the Birmingham-Southern contest due to injury. Freshman C.J. Ware (Decatur, Ga./Lakeside) made her first career start Jan. 29 against Charleston Southern and scored five points and had five rebounds in a 56-50 loss. Sophomore Vanessa Laug (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) made her first start against Radford Feb. 19.

Coastal is 5-0 when it makes more free throws than its opponent, compared to 4-16 when it equals or is less than its opponents hits from the charity stripe. Against Winthrop Feb. 12, Coastal was 11-of-13 from the line in the 53-45 win.

Coastal had a season high 45 rebounds in the 55-41 loss to Radford Jan. 17. Senior Courtney Brown (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) and junior Kim Turner (West Memphis, Ark./Hiwassee C.C.) had seven rebounds apiece, while sophomore Vanessa Laug (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) had six rebounds, all in the first half. The Lady Chants outrebounded the Highlanders 45-39 and it was the first time in the last eight contests that Radford has been outrebounded.

Although Coastal Carolina lost 59-50 in its Big South Conference opener against Liberty, the Lady Chants defense held the Lady Flames to 35.9 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range. They also held All-America candidate Katie Feenstra to just 14 points, more than three below her season average. Last season, Feenstra averaged 26.0 points against Coastal in two games. The big difference of the game was that the Lady Flames had a 29-10 advantage on made free-throw attempts.

Coastal Carolina had its best shooting performance in almost a year against Coker. CCU went 30-of-53 from the field for 56.6 percent. It was the first time this season that the Lady Chants went above 50 percent line and the first time since March 1, 2004, in a 67-43 win over Birmingham-Southern.

Junior Amber Rose (Bloomington Springs, Tenn./Upperman) hit four three-pointers for the second consecutive game in a 79-41 win over Coker Jan. 5. Rose was an efficient 4-of-5 from three-point range for 12 points. Rose’s four treys were the most by a Coastal player this season. On the year, Rose is 22-of-63 (.349) from behind the line.

Coastal had 20 assists in the 79-41 win over Coker Jan. 5, including five each from senior Lucia Popovici (Edmonton, Alberta/Jasper Place) and junior Amber Rose (Bloomington Springs, Tenn./Upperman). In fact, Popovici had all her assists in the first half. Coastal is averaging 12.5 assists per game, which is third in the Big South.

Coastal Carolina has several individuals in the latest Big South statistical rankings, out March 3. Junior Kim Turner (West Memphis, Ark./Hiwassee C.C.) is fourth in the league in scoring (13.4), third in field-goal percentage (.475) and seventh in rebounding (5.8). Junior Jasmine Tyler (Jacksonville, Fla./Okaloosa C.C.) is fifth in the Big South in steals at 2.20 a game. Senior Courtney Brown (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) is seventh in three-point field-goal percentage (.311).

Junior Kim Turner (West Memphis, Ark./Hiwassee C.C.) had three blocked shots for the fourth time this season against Birmingham-Southern March 2. Turner has 30 blocked shots on the season and had four blocks against High Point Jan. 24.

Sophomore Vanessa Laug (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) had a career high 15 points off the bench in a 73-45 win over Savannah State Dec. 16. She connected on five of her seven field-goal attempts and was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Coastal got off to a hot start in its 73-45 win over Savannah State Dec. 16. The Lady Chants lead 11-0 just 2:50 into the game and had a 22-point lead (30-8) at the 7:41 mark. Coastal led by as many as 28 points in the first 20 minutes on its way to its largest winning margin since last year’s season opener against Anderson, in which the Lady Chants won 76-48.

Junior Demaria Young (Memphis, Tenn./Walters State C.C.) had a career-high 16 points in a 94-52 loss to fifth-ranked North Carolina Dec. 12. Young was 6-of-13 from the field and hit three three-pointers. She upped her scoring average from 5.3 to 7.4 points per game.

Coastal Carolina almost came back from an 18-point deficit in its 67-65 loss to Appalachian State Dec. 2. The Lady Chants were down 25-7 with 8:42 left in the first half, but cut the lead to eight at the half. Coastal outscored ASU 38-32 in the second half and tied the game twice, the last with 7:22 left. Junior Amber Rose (Bloomington Springs, Tenn./Upperman) had a shot to win with two seconds left, but her shot was blocked.

Senior Courtney Brown (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) came off the bench to score 18 points and eight rebounds Dec. 2 against Appalachian State. Brown was 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. She also added two assists, two steals and two blocked shots. On the year, Brown is averaging 7.8 points and 5.6 rebounds a game.

Coastal head coach Alan LeForce earned his 100th victory at Coastal Carolina with a 51-47 win over UNC Wilmington Nov. 30. LeForce is the only coach in Division I to win 100 games in both men’s and women’s basketball and only the second coach in all NCAA divisions. He has an overall 107-115 record at CCU. LeForce is the winningest head coach in Coastal women’s basketball history, passing Gina Markland Feb. 23, 2004. Overall, LeForce is 347-295 in 22 years as a head coach.

The Coastal Carolina University women’s basketball team was selected to finish eighth in the Big South Conference’s annual preseason poll, as voted by the League’s Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors. The announcement was made at the Westin Hotel in downtown Charlotte as part of the 2004-05 Basketball Tip-Off Media Luncheon.

Coastal will have seven new players on the roster this season and will have a whole new starting lineup. All five starters from the 2003-04 season exhausted their eligibility, including Coastal’s all-time leading scorer Nikki Reddick. The lineup for the Appalachian State game featured a true senior (Lucia Popovici), a redshirt junior (Amber Rose), two junior-college transfers (Kim Turner and Jasmine Tyler) and a sophomore (Alisha Dill). Turner and Tyler join junior Demaria Young, junior Kristy Yurichak, freshman C.J. Ware and redshirt freshman Samantha Carver as eligible newcomers. Sophomore Joanna Pekonen also is a newcomer on the roster, but will not be eligible until 2005-06 due to the NCAA transfer rule.

Sophomore Alisha Dill (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) had a career high eight assists in Coastal’s 77-74 loss to Anderson Nov. 19. Her previous career best was four last season at Appalachian State Jan. 3 and Winthrop Feb. 21. Dill also added eight points, five rebounds and three steals in the game.

Junior Kim Turner (West Memphis, Ark./Hiwassee C.C.) scored 16 points and added five rebounds in her first career game in a Coastal uniform, a 77-74 loss to Anderson Nov. 19. Turner added five rebounds and had two blocked shots. Juniors Jasmine Tyler (Jacksonville, Fla./Okaloosa C.C.) and Demaria Young (Memphis, Tenn./Walters State C.C.) each had eight points in their debuts.

Coastal has two seniors on the squad this season. Redshirt senior Courtney Brown (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) averaged 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds last season while playing in 24 games. Brown also missed four games due to injury last season. Senior Lucia Popovici (Edmonton, Alberta/Jasper Place) is penciled in as a starting center after averaging 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds in 2003-04.

Coastal has eight players on its 2004-05 roster that are six feet or taller, led by junior Kristy Yurichak (Walton Hills, Ohio/Lakeland C.C.), who is 6-4. Sophomore Joanna Pekonen (Lappeenranta, Finland/Lafayette), who is ineligible to compete in games this season, is 6-3. Coastal has two 6-1 players and four players at six feet.

Redshirt freshman Samantha Carver (Flemingsburg, Ky/Fleming County) will make her return to basketball this season after missing all of 2003-04 to rehabilitation of a torn ACL. In high school, Carver averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds a game and was named a Louisville Courier-Journal All-State honorable mention.

Junior Kristy Yurichak (Walton Hills, Ohio/Lakeland C.C.) is out for the season (back).

The Coastal Carolina women’s baskeball team will have at least 11 games on radio this season, tipping off with a home game against Savannah State University Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. All Coastal women’s basketball radio broadcasts are on "THE TEAM" 93.9 FM in Myrtle Beach. All games also will be available on Coastal Carolina’s athletic website at www.GoCCUSports.com.

All the Coastal women’s basketball games this season will have a Game Day Central link on www.GoCCUSports.com, which will feature roster, schedules and stats for both teams as well as links to any live audio or live stats. Just click on the G under the women’s basketball schedule for access to the Game Day Central.

Coastal faces High Point in the opening round of the 2005 Advance Auto Parts Big South Tournament Tuesday, March 8.