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Women's Basketball Gets Back on Winning Track with 58-45 Victory over Charleston Southern

       

Women's Basketball Gets Back on Winning Track with 58-45 Victory over Charleston Southern

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NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A 20-8 run to open the second half ignited the Coastal Carolina University women’s basketball team (16-11, 4-8 Big South) to a 58-45 win over Charleston Southern (8-21, 3-9 Big South) March 5 at the CSU Fieldhouse. With the win, the Lady Chanticleers snap a four-game losing streak and earn the fifth seed in the 2008 Advance Auto Parts Big South Women’s Basketball Championships.   Charleston Southern had the hot hand in the beginning of the game, jumping out to an 8-1 lead after Katie Tull’s jumper at 17:41. Coastal would cut the CSU advantage to 12-9 at 14:29 on an old-fashion three-point play by sophomore Lacey Lyons (Beverly Hills, Fla./Crystal River). After Crystal Robinson free throw made it 15-13 Coastal at 10:18, both teams went cold from the field. The score would stay the same until two Pam Tolbert free throws for CSU at 7:05. Sophomore Devin Rivers (Miami, Fla./Felix Varela) tied the game at 17 on a jumper at 5:07, but CSU would score the next five points, capped by a Natalie Caldwell fast break layup at 2:07. Coastal would score the last five points of the half, as freshman Katie White’s (St. Charles, Ill./East) layup at 1:46 and Lyons’ three with 33 seconds remaining tied the game at 22 heading into the lockerroom.   Lyons had nine points in the first half, while sophomore Amanda Stull (Rushville, Ind./Rushville Consolidated) had four assists. Coastal had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, with senior C.J. Ware (Decatur, Ga./Lakeside) grabbing six total rebounds in the half. Coastal shot 25 percent from the floor, while the Lady Buccaneers went 8-for-29 from the floor in the first 20 minutes.   Coastal would take its first lead of the game at 17:48 on a runner from freshman Kate Jasinski (Toledo, Ohio/Penn (Ind.)). Coastal would expand the lead to six at 15:45 on a Lyons three. After Charleston Southern cut the Lady Chant lead to 32-28, CCU would go on an 8-2 run, capped by a Ware layup at 8:54, giving Coastal a 42-30 lead. Charleston Southern would cut the lead to 44-36 on two Pam Tolbert free throws at 6:13, but freshman Sydnei Moss (North Augusta, S.C./North Augusta) scored Coastal’s next four points as the Lady Chants led 48-38 with 3:55 left. Coastal would lead by as much as 14 points and iced the cushion at the free-throw line, making seven tries in the last two minutes.   Lyons led the Lady Chants with 20 points, while Moss added 13, 11 of those in the second half. Pam Tolbert led Charleston Southern with 13 points, going 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, while Katie Tull had 12 points.   Coastal shot 45.8 percent in the second half and outrebounded the Lady Bucs 48-35 in the game. The 48 rebounds are the most by the Lady Chants since Dec. 1. Coastal also ended the game with 17 offensive boards.   Lyons was one rebound away from a double-double, grabbing nine rebounds, while White and Rivers had seven apiece. Stull had a season-high seven assists for the Lady Chants.   Coastal will open the Big South Tournament by facing fourth-seeded High Point Friday, March 14 at 2 p.m., in the Justice Center in Asheville, N.C.