CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women's basketball team used the final minute of regulation and a career-high 25 points from Sherece Smith (Clemson, S.C.) to force overtime and grab a Big South Conference win from the visiting Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Thursday night, 71-68.
With PC down by three points and only 16 seconds left in regulation, Coastal's Megan Pittman missed a free throw and the Blue Hose grabbed the rebound. Smith went coast to coast and converted a layup, drew a foul and hit the bonus free throw to tie the game at 61-61. The Chanticleers' buzzer-beating three-point attempt clanged off the rim and sent the game into overtime.
In overtime, PC answered Coastal bucket-for-bucket three times. A soft touch layup from Angelica Henry put the Chanticleers ahead, 67-65, midway through the extra period before Karlee Taylor (Asheville, N.C.) made her own tough layup in transition to tie the game for the 16th time.
With 1:04 to go, Coastal's Kayla Cook made one of two free throws to break the tie. On the other end, Smith went down low for a layup to give the Blue Hose their final lead, 69-68. Aianna Kelly (Newport News, Va.) then forced a jump ball to retake possession with 35.9 seconds left in overtime.
A foul gave Kelly two free throws and the freshman nailed both of them. Keyonna Allen (Forest Park, Ga.) then stole the ball in the final second to seal the win—PC's fourth straight over the Chanticleers.
The win moved PC to 4-13 overall and 2-6 in the Big South Conference. The Blue Hose host Campbell on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the second half of a PC basketball doubleheader after PC's men's team hosts Gardner-Webb at 2 p.m. Coastal Carolina moves to 8-9 on the year, 4-4 in the league and faces Charleston Southern away at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Smith's 25 points mark the third-most in PC's Division I history, second to the two-time record of 26 points. Her 10 field goals tied Katlin Moore and Mariah Pietrowski for most in a PC Division I game. The senior guard scored 19 in the second half and overtime to guide the Blue Hose to the win.
The freshman guard Kelly never left the floor to play all 45 minutes, a PC Division I record, and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds—one off of that school Division I record as well. She also added 11 points for her first career double-double and the team's second of the season.
Angelica Henry led Coastal Carolina with 15 points and seven rebounds. Megan Pittman added 14 points.
Down 32-26 at the break, Coastal came out swinging to start the second half. Karsen Sims scored four straight points during an 8-3 run out of halftime before Noelle Carter (Neptune, N.J.) buried a short jumper to retake the lead, 37-36, with 13 minutes left in the game.
The Chanticleers and Blue Hose continued to connect before a three-pointer from Kayla Cook—her fifth straight point for Coastal Carolina—put the visitors ahead, 43-41. PC then answered in kind, with Carter knocking down a shot from the top of the key to even things up again halfway through the stanza.
A Megan Schaaf (Ellicott city, Md.) putback with 7:15 on the clock restored PC's four-point lead from early in the half. Blue Hose foul trouble began to catch up with the home side, however, and sent the line Chanticleers to the line to help make up the gap.
PC's lead swung between one and three points. Smith made a terrific play to cut through the lane and drive to the basket to push PC's lead back up to three with 2:49 remaining.
Unfortunately for the Blue Hose, Coastal Carolina scored the next six points—capped by a three-point dagger from Megan Pittman with 52 seconds to go—and the visitors went ahead by three.
Aianna Kelly cut into the lead with a free throw but the Chanticleers recovered a miss on the second. Coastal's Pittman missed the first but made the second to go up by three points with 16 seconds to go, setting the stage for the dramatic finale.
PC benefitted from the foulouts of Chanticleer stars Alexx Puckett and AJ Jordan in the second half.
The first half saw a back-and-forth battle where PC pulled away before the break to take a 32-26 lead into the locker room.
The two sides traded baskets early and often en route to a 15-15 deadlock midway point of the first half. PC's hot shooting (50 percent) through the first 20 minutes helped them gain an edge and the squad outscored the Chanticleers 11-6 over the final 5:18 of the period.
Taylor continued her recent stretch of hot play to give the team six points of breathing room at halftime. The senior guard knocked down a three-pointer before knocking down two straight free throws during the stretch to finish with 13 points at halftime. Kelly chipped in with seven rebounds to lead all players in the half and help the Blue Hose create some space on the scoreboard.
PC outrebounded the Chanticleers, 47 to 33, and outscored the visitors in the paint by a 38-18 margin.
Allen came thorugh for the Blue Hose with nine points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
