CONWAY – Junior guard Torrie Cash scored 11 of her game-high 17 points in the second half as Coastal Carolina (1-0) pulled away from Western Carolina (0-1) over the final 20 minutes of Tuesday’s season-opening 77-59 win at the HTC Center.
The turning point of the game came early in the third quarter when Coastal broke a 37-37 tie with 10 unanswered points to take what proved to be a permanent lead for the remainder of the night.
The Chanticleers had four players in double figures as Caitlin Roche followed Cash with 16, all in the second half, and Breelyn Branding and Janae Camp added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Camp’s scoring total was a career high for the sophomore forward, and the totals for the junior transfers Cash and Roche were their first in a Chanticleer uniform.
“I’m proud of our players for stepping up and getting this win,” said sixth-year head coach Jaida Williams, whose team was 17-14 last season. “I’m glad we started off the season on the right note and got this one under our belt.”
Coastal started with a 10-0 run in what looked to be a dominant outing for the Chants, but Western Carolina cut the lead to 33-31 at the half. Blanding closed the first half with a driving lay-up for Coastal and had 12 of her 14 points at the break. Coastal never trailed in the second half and built a 20-point lead at 77-57 in the final minute.
Western Carolina (0-1) was led by Angel Allen, who had 16 points, and Tembre Moates, who added 11 to go with 9 rebounds. Blanding, a senior guard, had 9 rebounds to lead the Chanticleers.
Coastal had a pair of 10-point runs in the game, one to start the game and the other early in the second half that was led by Roche. Roche scored 10 of her team’s first 14 points to open the second half, putting the Chanticleers in front 47-37. She closed the game with a pair of three-pointers in the closing minutes.
Coastal shot 47 percent from the field (31-66) and hit on 7-23 3-pointers (30 percent). Coastal also held Western Carolina to 36 percent shooting. Coastal had a slim 37-33 edge in rebounding.
The Chants have a week off before returning to the HTC Center on Nov. 13 to host South Carolina State for a 6 p.m. game.