Conway, SC (WBTW) — Junior guards DJ Williams and Caitlin Roche combined for 45 points, including 29 in the second half, as Coastal Carolina took control down the stretch to earn a 77-70 win over Texas State Saturday at the HTC Center.
The Chanticleers, who also got 10 points from sophomore forward Alise Davis, improved their record to 12-10 overall and 4-7 in the conference after winning four of their last five games.
Texas State, led by senior guard Toshua Leavitt’s 20 points and Brooke Holle’s 15 points, fell to 9-14, 4-7 with its fifth consecutive loss.
Davis scored all 10 of her points in the final period, including back-to-back baskets that put Coastal in front for good, at 61-60, with eight minutes left to play. That was the end of a 7-0 Coastal run. Davis scored again to give the Chanticleers their largest lead of the game at 71-64, and Roche made a couple of free throws in the final seconds to match that advantage.
Roche led all players with 23 points, hitting nine of 15 attempts from the field with a trio of 3-pointers. She also converted her only two attempts at the free-throw line.
In addition to scoring 22 points, Williams recorded game-highs of 10 rebounds and seven assists, picking up her second straight double-double and fourth of the season. She finished 7-16 from the field and 8-11 at the line.
Texas State led for 29:49 of the game thanks in large part to making 17 of their first 19 free-throw attempts, but the Bobcats made just one of their last four attempts down the final stretch. In comparison, Coastal shot 16-22 from the free throw line for the game, but made 9 of its last 10 when it counted most.
Coastal shot 28-58 from the field (48%) as compared to 22-61 (36%) for Texas State. Coastal also held a sizable rebounding advantage at 47-27, including out-rebounding the Bobcats by 15 in the second half.
“I am proud of our team out-rebounding them and getting plenty of points in the paint. That is Coastal basketball,” said head coach Jaida Williams. “Davis did a good job of getting open inside too and DJ always does a good job of getting the ball to the open player.”
Holle already had 12 points at the break, helping give Texas State a 39-30 advantage. She was 4-5 from the field and also had four rebounds as the Bobcats led the whole first half. Their biggest lead of 11 points at 37-26 came with a minute remaining in the second period. Coastal used a 16-8 run to pull within 26-24 midway through the second period but Texas State broke things open again with an 11-2 run.
Coastal returns to action at 2 p.m. next Saturday by hosting Appalachian State.