STATESBORO - Coastal Carolina shot 57 percent from the field to defeat Georgia Southern women's basketball, 87-81, on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Chanticleers (10-19, 4-12 SBC) won their second straight and swept the season series from the Eagles, who fell to 14-15 overall and 4-12 in the Sun Belt.
The Eagles came out as the hot shooting team in the first quarter, hitting 8-of-16 shots from the floor in building a 22-17 lead. Georgia Southern maintained that lead into halftime, taking a 39-34 lead at halftime.
In the second half, however, Coastal Carolina blistered the nets, shooting 10-of-13 from the floor for 77 percent in a 29-point third quarter to take a 63-62 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Eagles were within one again in the fourth quarter, 71-70, with 4:42 left to play, but the Chanticleers went on a 9-2 run over the next two minutes to put the game out of reach.
Terren Ward led the Eagles with 31 points, while Kayla Thomas added a career-high 16 points and Ja'nya Love-Hill added 11. Coastal Carolina placed four players in double figures, led by Makaila Cange's 24 points and Deaja Richardon's 21 points.
Prior to the game, Georgia Southern honored eight seniors in a ceremony - Ward, Love-Hill, Shy Booker, Diamond Stokes, Constance Thomas, Simone James, Lydia Freeman and Eden Johnson.
Eagle of the Game
Ward registered her sixth career 30+ point contest on the night, hitting four three-pointers and also adding a 7-for-9 performance from the free throw line. She added six rebounds, three steals and two assists in the contest.
Stat of the Game
Coastal Carolina hit 27-of-39 two point shots on the day, a 69.2 percentage.
Quotables
Head Coach Anita Howard on the Senior Day contest against the Chanticleers
"I thought we came out strong in that first quarter, but from there, we allowed them to be the aggressive side. We wanted to outrebound them and we did that just a little bit, but at the end of the day we just didn't fight hard enough. So it's a little sad that our seniors had to go out with a loss. Although it's bittersweet, I'm really proud of our seniors and what they've done for Georgia Southern.
Next Up
The Eagles will play their final two regular season games on the road, starting on Tuesday, February 27, playing a 6:30 p.m. contest at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va.
