CONWAY – The Coastal Carolina women’s basketball team opened its Sun Belt Conference schedule with an 89-76 victory over UTA Friday afternoon at the HTC Center.
The 89 points marks the second-highest offensive output for Coastal (7-5, 1-0) this season (following the 93 points against Allen), and highest against a Division I opponent.
Four different Chants scored in double figures to spur the offensive explosion. Jas Adams scored 22 points – her fourth game of the season scoring 20 or more – to lead the charge. Breelyn Blanding followed close behind with 21, a career high for the junior guard.
DJ Williams scored 17 points, and nearly had a triple-double as the sophomore guard grabbed nine rebounds and dished out nine assists – a career high. Naheria Hamilton joined Williams with 17 points and nine rebounds to tie for the game high on the boards.
Coastal shot 54 percent from the field, including making five of 10 shots from beyond the arc. The Chants also finished 30-of-52 at the line, both season highs for the team.
UTA (6-6, 0-1) was limited to shooting 36 percent from the field, and received 19 and 16 points from Crystal Allen and Daiane Machado, respectively. Shelby Richards added 11 points.
Coastal won the battle on the boards, 46-40, and outscored UTA in the paint 36-26. The Chants also converted 24 points off of 14 UTA turnovers.
A 6-2 CCU run to close the first quarter gave the Chants a 19-17 lead after 10 minutes of play. Coastal added to its lead over the second quarter after scoring seven unanswered points twice during the frame. The first span was accomplished solely by Hamilton, who made three layups and a free throw. Hamilton started the second stretch with another layup, and Blanding finished the stretch with her own layup and a 3-pointer.
UTA kept the game close during the third quarter as it shot 50 percent from the field, its best shooting of the game. The Mavs outscored the Chants by three in period, giving Coastal a single-point lead heading into the fourth.
Coastal relied on its free throw shooting in the fourth quarter as UTA got into foul trouble down the stretch. The Chants shot 19-of-35 at the line in the final 10 minutes, including 10 of their final 12 points over the last three minutes. CCU opened the final quarter scoring nine unanswered points to take its first double-digit lead of the game.
The Chants return to the HTC Center on Sunday to host Texas State at 1 p.m.
Courtesy: CCU Athletic Department
