Charleston Southern University Athletics
1-0
UNC Greensboro
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNC Greensboro | 28 | 29 | 57 |
| Charleston Southern | 28 | 32 | 60 |
Coward's 28 leads Lady Bucs over UNC Greensboro, 60-57
11/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Rachelle Coward scored 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Charleston Southern began the Fred Applin era with a season-opening 60-57 victory over UNC Greensboro in the Asheville Collegiate Invitational at Kimmel Arena on Saturday.
The Lady Bucs (1-0) turned the ball over 29 times but were able to hold off a comeback from the Lady Spartans (0-1) in the final minute.
UNCG was led by Lucy Mason with 17 points. Jarae Savage added 10 points for the Spartans.
CSU led by as many as 11 in the second half but the Spartans closed the gap to 58-57 on two inside baskets from Savage in the final minute of play with the second score coming with eight seconds remaining.
The Lady Bucs worked the ball to D.J. Fowler who was fouled with seven seconds left and the junior guard sank both free throws to give CSU a 60-57 lead. A three-point attempt by Natalie Headley to tie the game fell short as Erin Bratcher came down with the rebound for the Lady Bucs to seal the victory.
"I told the team after the game that we can't win too many games turning the ball over 29 times, but we played hard for most of the game and found a way to get a win," stated Applin following his first coaching victory at Charleston Southern. "We preach defense and today our defense helped carry us through. And we got a nice game from Rachelle Coward. She hit some big shots throughout the day."
The Bucs struggled early as they had turnovers on six consecutive possessions spanning a three minute period in the first half and CSU had 12 turnovers at the second media timeout as UNCG led early 14-5 six minutes into the contest.
However, the CSU defense carried the Lady Bucs through the struggled, holding the Spartans scoreless for a six-minute span, using the advantage to go on a 16-0 run to grab a 21-14 lead. Coward led the run on the offensive side with nine points as the defense held UNCG to an 0-for-10 slump from the floor with four turnovers during the run.
The Spartans responded with an 8-0 run to lead 22-21 as the teams swapped the lead several times in the final five minutes of the opening half. The final tie came following a Savage lay-up, sending the teams into the locker room tied 28-28.
In the second half, treys from Bratcher and Coward triggered an 8-0 run to give the Bucs the lead for good at 36-28 with 18 minutes to play in the contest.
CSU led 52-44 with five minutes left but UNCG continued to battle back, creeping to within 55-53 as Mason scored on a lay-up with 1:47 left.
Bratcher followed the Spartans' run with a three-pointer as the shot clock wound down to give the Bucs some breathing room at 58-53 setting up the final minute of the game.
Charleston Southern plays its home opener Wednesday night against Southern Wesleyan at 7 p.m. UNC Greensboro hosts Radford on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
