Conway, SC (WBTW) — Junior guard Caitlin Roche scored a team-high 22 points for Coastal Carolina, but South Alabama got a game-high 30 points from sophomore guard Savannah Jones and the Jaguars pulled away for an 88-78 win Saturday in Sun Belt play at the HTC Center.
The loss drops Coastal to 8-5 overall and 0-2 in conference play while South Alabama improved to 12-1 overall and 1-1 in the Sun Belt.
Junior guard DJ Williams followed Roche with 19 points, and added a game-leading 14 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Naheria Hamilton hauled in 12 rebounds as Coastal out-rebounded South Alabama 64-40 to record a season-high on the boards.
In addition to Jones’ 30 points, South Alabama received 22 points from Shaforia Kines, 12 points from Antoinette Lewis and 10 points from Kennedi Centers.
Coastal held a 64-58 lead midway through the third quarter before South Alabama went on a 12-0 run to close the quarter and take a 70-64 lead. The Jaguars led the rest of the way, ending a back-and-forth contest that had seven ties and nine lead changes.
South Alabama continued to pull away and led 77-67 when Jones hit her seventh 3-pointer of the game. Jones finished 7-14 from long range.
Jones scored 15 of South Alabama’s first 23 points and helped spur the Jags to an early 11-0 run. She was 4-4 from 3-point range during that span. From there, Coastal held Jones without a point for the rest of the half and recovered with a 9-4 run, taking the lead at 31-30 on Blount’s put-back layup with 7:39 left in the second period. The Chanticleers gained an 8-point advantage (43-35) and led 45-40 at the half behind 11 points from Roche.
Up next, the Chants head to the state of Texas to open up a three-game road swing at Texas State on Jan. 10. Tip-off is scheduled to 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
