CONWAY, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women's basketball
team led for much of its Monday night matchup against Coastal Carolina at Kimbel Arena, but a late surge from the home team helped Chanticleers nip
the Blue Hose in a spirited affair, 52-49.
PC moves to 6-7 on the year and 0-2 in Big South Conference
play. Coastal Carolina improves to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in league action.
Mariah Pietrowski (Elizabethton, Tenn.) led PC with 14
points and seven rebounds, both game highs. Karlee Taylor (Asheville, N.C.)
added 12 points and Sherece Smith (Clemson, S.C.) matched Pietrowski's game-high rebound count, with seven.
PC led Coastal Carolina at halftime and shot 55.6 percent in
the first half, but a 23.8 percent performance in the second that saw the Blue
Hose score six points in the final 7:38 allowed the Chanticleers to escape with
the win.
Devin Fothergill (Somerset, Ky.) tied a season best with
three steals to help PC edge Coastal Carolina in that category, 10-9. PC also
outpaced its opponent in the paint, 24 to 18.
The Blue Hose used a strong first half to take a 26-22 lead
into halftime. PC shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the opening period,
making the most of 10 of 18 field goal attempts.
Four different PC players made the team's first four field
goals to help PC to an early 8-5 lead. Shonda Burnside (Gray Court, S.C.) provided a first-half highlight when she stole a Chanticleer pass and raced down the
floor for an uncontested layup.
The Blue Hose continued to convert its chances and led by
eight with 7:11 before halftime, 19-11, thanks to a Pietrowski spin move and
bucket in the paint. The Chanticleers pulled closer down the stretch and an
Olivia Irick trey narrowed PC's lead to two with 25 seconds left, but a successful
Fothergill drive to the net in the closing seconds gave
the Blue Hose four points of breathing room at the halftime break.
CCU opened the second half on a 5-0 run to take the lead,
but four Pietrowski points and a Chelsea Parker (Asheville, N.C.) basket gave
the Blue Hose their lead back.
Both sides struggled on offense
through the final frame and the PC defense held the Chanticleers at bay through a sizable amount of the period. The
Blue Hose clung to their lead before their advantage swelled to four midway
through the half thanks to a Taylor layup and a pair of Pietrowski free throws.
Taylor answered a Coastal trey with
one of her own and a Pietrowski conversion from in close put PC up by seven
with 7:38 left on the clock.
The visitors in blue would not
find the net again until Pietrowski hit two free throws with 2:25 remaining, however, following
nine unanswered Coastal points.
Coastal Carolina's Taylor Epley
then knocked down two jump shots from in close, but Smith cut the Chanticleer lead
to one with 37 seconds left with a layup.
PC sent Angelica Henry to the
line to make two free throws while stopping the clock and a missed Kristen Stevens (Pickerington, Ohio)
three-pointer gave Coastal the ball back, leading to two more points and a
five-point lead. Smith sprinted and scored layup with two seconds to go, but the
Chanticleers had enough the win, 52-49.
PC returns home for its first Big South Conference game at
Templeton Center on Saturday when the Blue Hose host Winthrop at 7 p.m.
