Game 1

Coastal Carolina (0-0) vs. Anderson (3-1)

Anderson is coached by Kevin Pederson, who is in his third season as the head coach of the Trojans. He has a 58-29 overall record.

Series vs. Anderson

Coastal and Anderson have met only once on the hardwood, which took place Nov. 21, 2003. The Lady Chants defeated the Trojans 76-48. The complete wrapup and box score of the game can be found on page five of the game notes.

Coastal in Season Openers

Coastal Carolina is 14-16 all-time in season openers, but has won the last six lidlifters. Last season, the Lady Chants defeated Anderson 76-48. Under head coach Alan LeForce, Coastal is 6-1 in season openers.

Chanticleers Picked Eighth in the Big South

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.

For the second year in a row, Liberty was unanimously selected to win its eighth-straight regular-season crown, which set a Conference record. The Lady Flames have gone undefeated in Conference play for two straight years, and have won 38 consecutive Big South contests, dating back to the 2001-02 season. High Point was voted second, while UNC Asheville, Radford and Charleston Southern round out the top five. Birmingham-Southern placed sixth in the women’s poll, followed by Winthrop at seventh and Coastal Carolina eighth.

Hi, My Name is ...

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 Low Country All-Stars exhibition game featured a redshirt senior (Courtney Brown), a true senior (Lucia Popovici), a redshirt junior (Amber Rose), a junior-college transfer (Kim Turner) and a sophomore (Alisha Dill). Turner joins junior Jasmine Tyler, 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.

Home Sweet Home

Coastal will enjoy the friendly confines of Kimbel Arena for five of its first six games. The Lady Chants do not go on the road until Dec. 12 against the University of North Carolina. Coastal also will have a game against the College of Charleston at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center Dec. 19. After that stretch, Coastal will be on the road for six of its next seven games.

Senior Leadership

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. In the exhibition game against the Low Country All-Stars, Brown had 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds while Popovici grabbed six rebounds in only 15 minutes.

LeForce Milestone Watch

Coastal head coach Alan LeForce needs only two wins to earn his 100th win as the mentor of the Lady Chants. LeForce is the winningest head coach in Coastal women’s basketball history, passing Gina Markland Feb. 23, 2004. Overall, LeForce is 338-279 in 22 years as a head coach.

Coastal Adds SIze to Roster

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.

Carver Returns to Court

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.

Rose Lights Up Scoreboard against Low Country

Junior Amber Rose (Bloomington Springs, Tenn./Upperman) stuffed the stat sheet for 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the 86-58 win over the Low Country All-Stars Nov. 14. Rose was 8-of-12 from the field, 4-of-6 from three-point range and a perfect 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. Last year, Rose averaged 2.7 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.