CCU women fight valiantly, but lose to UNC

The Coastal Carolina University women’s basketball team (7-3) jumped out to a six-point first half lead and cut a 24-point North Carolina (11-1) lead to 11 in the second half, but the #3 Tar Heels had three players score in double figures and hit 31-of-46 free throws in an 82-58 win over the Lady Chanticleers Dec. 17 in front of 1,021 fans in Kimbel Arena.

Coastal came out and had a 14-8 lead at the 13:48 mark. Sophomore Lacey Lyons (Beverly Hills, Fla./Crystal River) opened the scoring with a three pointer.

After the Tar Heels took a 5-3 lead, sophomore Devin Rivers (Miami, Fla./Felix Varela) tied it at five with a layup at 17:48. Back-to-back layups from senior C.J. Ware (Decatur, Ga./Lakeside) and Rivers gave CCU a 9-5 lead.

Coastal made it 12-6 on a three from freshman Kate Jasinski (Toledo, Ohio/Penn (Ind.)). After UNC’s Erlana Larkins made a layup, freshman Katie White (St. Charles, Ill./East) came right back with a layup at 13:48 for a 14-8 lead.

An old fashion three-point play from senior Joanna Pekonon (Lapeenranta, Finland/Makelanrinne) put Coastal up 17-12 at 12:10, but the Tar Heels took a lead they would not relinquish at 10:27 on a Rashanda McCants jumper, giving UNC a 19-17 lead. North Carolina would stretch the lead to nine (28-19) at 6:21 on a Jessica Breland jumper.

The Tar Heels took a 34-24 halftime lead on a three from McCants and two free throws from Cetera DeGraffenreid.

Freshman Sydnei Moss (North Augusta, S.C./North Augusta) led Coastal with five first-half points, while Rivers had six rebounds. Sophomore Amanda Stull (Rushville, Ind./Rushville Consolidated) had three assists in the first 20 minutes.

For UNC, McCants had eight points, while Larkins and LaToya Pringle had six rebounds. Coastal shot 38.5 percent from the field, while the Tar Heels were 10-of-22 from the floor in the first half.

North Carolina would extend its lead to 53-29 at the 14:19 mark on a Pringle layup, but Coastal would chip away over the next nine minutes. Lyons’ three at 10:52 made it 59-41. The lead would be cut to 59-43 on a Rivers layup at the 10-minute mark. Larkins made a layup at the other end, but a three from sophomore Lori Whitaker (Bloomington, Ind./North) and free throws from Rivers made it 61-48. Two threes from Lyons and two free throws from Rivers cut the lead to 67-56 with 5:44 left, but the Tar Heels got the lead back to 15 (71-56) on four points from Italee Lucas. Lyons’ free throws made it 71-58 at 3:14, but North Carolina ended the game on a 9-0 run for its 11th win of the year.

Lyons had 14 points for Coastal, going 4-of-9 from three-point range. Rivers added 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. For the Tar Heels, Pringle had 20 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and three blocks. McCants had 18 points and six rebounds, while Larkins had 14 points and eight rebounds.

The game featured 52 fouls between the two teams. North Carolina shot 67.4 percent (31-46) from the line, while the Lady Chants were 13-of-20 for 65 percent. 

Coastal shot 38.8 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three-point range. North Carolina was 44.4 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Lady Chanticleers 42-32. 

Coastal received 22 points from its bench, led by Whitaker’s six. 

Coastal will head to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center Thursday at 5 p.m. to take on Alabama State. It will be the Lady Chants’ final game before the end of the year.