Women's Basketball Tops SC State, 63-54, at MB Convention Center
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team rebounded from consecutive losses with a 63-54 victory over South Carolina State on Friday evening at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

The win was the first for Coastal (4-5) in the Convention Center since 2009, and snapped a six-game losing streak in the building.

Rachael Gregory led the Chants scoring 19 points on 6-of-11 from the floor and 7-of-12 from the line, marking the most free throws for a Chanticleer player in a game this season. Gregory also added eight rebounds.

Kennedy Archer and Alexis Robinson added 12 and 11 points, respectively, and Naheria Hamilton had team-highs of 11 rebounds and six blocks. The block total was a career best for the freshman center, who has tallied four or more blocks in four of her six appearances this season.

South Carolina State (3-5) was led by the game-leading 21 points of Bryeasha Blair, who made eight baskets from the floor and was perfect on four tries from the line.

Both teams finished the game shooting 35 percent from the field, and the Chants held a 17-12 advantage in free throws.

An 8-2 Coastal run midway through the opening period, combined with a nearly three-minute scoreless drought by the Bulldogs, allowed the Chants to carry a slim 19-18 advantage into the game's second quarter.

Jas Adams hit a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second quarter, but the Chants went scoreless for the next five minutes as SC State briefly reclaimed the lead, 27-22. Archer broke the scoring drought with a made jumper at the 4:48 mark that helped Coastal regain its scoring touch. The Chants made four of their next five field goal attempts, including another 3-pointer from Adams, to take a 34-32 lead into the halftime break.

Coastal's shooting dropped from 37 percent in the first half to 31 percent in the third quarter, but the Chanticleer defense stepped up to ensure CCU retained its lead. SC State scored just eight points on three field goals and a pair of free throws during the third quarter, and Coastal nearly matched its steal total from the first half with four.

The game entered the final quarter with Coastal leading 49-40, and the Chants maintained at least a six-point cushion for the remainder of the contest. Coastal spent the final two minutes of the game in the bonus, and closed regulation with five free throws to protect its lead.

Coastal plays its final game before the Christmas break on Tuesday, Dec. 20, when the Chants travel to College of Charleston for a 4 p.m. game at TD Arena. The Chants and Cougars last met in the 2013-14 season.

Prairie View A&M Overcomes Large Deficit to Down Texas State
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Texas State jumped out to a 19-point lead, but Prairie View A&M outscored the Bobcats 58-35 over the final 30 minutes of play en route to a 64-60 victory in women's basketball action Friday evening.

Texas State led 25-6 after the first quarter and 39-24 at the half, but Prairie View A&M took advantage of five second-half three pointers and 26 points off turnovers to seal the come-from-behind win.

Prairie View A&M was led by Jeronia Allen's 21-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Dominique Newman scored 20 and Tori Carter also reached double-figures with 14. The Panthers' finished the contest shooting 42.0 percent (21 of 50) and forced 21 Bobcat turnovers.

Taeler Deer scored a season-high 24 points to lead the Texas State contingent. Deer, who finished a career-best 6 of 6 from 3-point range, scored 18 of the Bobcats' 25 first-quarter points. McKinley Bostad joined Deer in double-figures with her 12 points on four makes and three free-throws. Zandra Emanuel led Texas State on the boards with a season-high eight as the Bobcats won the rebounding battle 33-31. Texas State closed the game making 22 of 49 shots for a 44.9 percentage. The Bobcats outscored PVAMU 24-12 in the paint and 13-9 in second chance points.

Deer gave Texas State a 6-0 lead with an early 3-pointer, then scored 12 straight as part of a 14-0 Bobcat run to push the visitors ahead by 16 at 20-4. The Bobcats' lead later stretched to 19 at 25-6 with Deer's 3-point at the quarter buzzer.

Texas State kept its double-digit lead throughout the second quarter. The Bobcats made 7 of 11 shots in the period to improve their overall first half shooting percentage to 55.6 percent (15 of 27). Prairie View A&M's second quarter offensive output consisted of five makes, including threes by Allen and Newman, along with six free throws. The Panthers trimmed the Texas State lead to 35-24 with 1:22 to go before the intermission, but Amber Jones and Kiani Lurry answered with baskets to give the Bobcats a 39-24 halftime advantage.

Prairie View A&M opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run with five different Panthers scoring to trim Texas State's once 19-point lead to five at 39-34. Bostad broke the Bobcats' scoring drought with a score inside at the 6:02 mark, sparking a 7-1 run that pushed the Texas State lead back to double-digits. The teams exchanged the quarter's final four points, leaving Texas State ahead 48-39 entering the fourth period.

The Panthers' Newman bookended an inside score by Texas State's Jones with a pair of 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the fourth, cutting the Bobcat lead to 50-45. Deer then answered with her sixth 3-pointer of the night for a 53-45 lead; however, Newman would continue to knock down threes, eventually cutting the Texas State lead to 56-53 with 4:44 to play.

Following a Texas State timeout PVAMU's Allen hit a mid-range jumper and after a timeout and forced turnover Allen gave the Panthers' their first lead of the game at 58-56 with a 3-pointer from the left wing with 3:29 to play. Nearly two minutes later McKinley Bostad tied the game with a score inside, but Alexus Parker responded with the game's next four points to push the Panthers ahead 62-58 with 31 seconds remaining in regulation.

Deer scored her 24th and final point of the night on a jumper with 22 seconds left; however, the Bobcats would get no closer as the Panthers hung on for the 64-60 win.

Texas State returns home to Strahan Coliseum on Monday (Dec. 19) to face Sam Houston State at 7 p.m.