CONWAY – Junior guard DJ Williams scored a career high 33 points for Coastal Carolina, but the Chanticleers’ last-minute comeback attempt fell just short as Campbell earned a 58-54 victory in a first-round game of the 2019 Women’s Basketball Invitational Thursday at the HTC Center.

Coastal trailed 55-52 before a pair of free throws by Williams put Coastal within two points with 37 seconds left in the game. Campbell had an empty possession and Coastal managed two contested shots in the lane in the final seconds. Neither hit the mark, and junior guard Hayley Barber made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to close the scoring. Barber finished with a team-high 17 points to lead the Camels, including 14 in the second half.

The loss finishes the Coastal season at 17-15, while Campbell improved to 22-12 and moves on to the second round of the WBI.

Williams made 12-22 shots (54%) but the rest of her team went just 9-25 from the field (36%). Williams also made 9-13 free throws and had seven rebounds and three assists. Williams was the only player in double figures for Coastal. Sophomore forward Janae Camp was the next highest scorer with six points.

Junior center Naheria Hamilton had nine rebounds to lead Coastal’s 43-27 advantage on the boards.

Coastal used a 6-0 run early in the third quarter to take a 34-28 lead, but Campbell battled back to take the lead for good at 47-45 on Shy Tuelle’s short jumper with 6:30 remaining.  Campbell took its largest lead of five points at 53-48 with under three minutes left.

Williams hit a jumper to pull the Chanticleers within three, but they hurt their chances by making only 3-8 free throws down the stretch. Conversely, Campbell made 3-4 free throws in the final minute. Coastal finished just 12-20 from the line, while Campbell made 13-19.

Coastal also went without making a three-point shot for the first time all season. The Chanticleers were 0-8 from long range, while Campbell converted 7-17 from beyond the arch to make the difference.

Williams already had 14 points in the first half when Coastal looked like it had things going its way. Williams scored five of her points in a 7-0 run that gave the Chanticleers a 19-12 lead early in the second quarter. Campbell countered with a 13-5 run to close the quarter to take a slim 25-24 lead at the break.