SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team managed to cut a double-figure deficit to just three points late in fourth quarter of Monday night's game at Wofford, but could not complete the comeback as the Terriers held on to take a 67-62 victory at Ben Johnson Arena.
Coastal (3-4) entered the final quarter trailing by 10, but scored eight quick points in the span of a minute and a half to cut Wofford's (5-3) lead to 65-62 with 30 seconds remaining. That was as close as the Chants would come, however, as Wofford hit two free throws down the stretch to close out the game.
Maria Corella led Wofford with 14 points, tying Ced Gibson for the game's lead in scoring. Kentra Washington and Amoshia Blakeney chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Terriers.
In addition to leading the Chants in scoring, Gibson dished out a game-high six assists. Kennedy Archer followed Gibson with 13 points, while Alexis Robinson (11 points) and Yasmin Miller (10 points) also finished in double figures. Rachael Gregory pulled in a team-best seven rebounds and added eight points, snapping a seven-game streak of scoring in double figures.
Wofford opened the game scoring nine unanswered points in the first three minutes, but Coastal quickly shook off its sluggish start and held the Terriers off the board until the 2:30 mark of the first quarter. Gregory closed the quarter with six points -- all from the field -- as the Chants worked to chip away at Wofford's early lead.
The Terriers carried a 13-9 lead into the second quarter, and continued to hold a four-point cushion for the first half of the period. Wofford then used an 8-1 run to take its first double-digit lead of the night, a lead that was protected going into halftime thanks to a 3-pointer by Chloe Wankink in the final minute of the half.
Coastal came out firing in the second half, hitting four of five field goal attempts and a free throw while limiting Wofford to one basket to go on an 11-2 run. Trailing by just a point, 37-36, Robinson hit one of two attempts from the line to force the game's only tie at 4:20 of the third quarter. The scoreboard didn't stay even for long, however, as Wofford went on a 13-6 run and Blakeney hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Terrier's 53-43 lead entering the final quarter.
From there, Wofford led by at least five points until the final minute of the game.
Monday's win was the first for Wofford in 10 all-time meetings against Coastal.
The Chants are back in action Monday, Dec. 12 at the HTC Center to host Saint Francis for a 7 p.m. game. Coastal has lost back-to-back meeting against SFU in each of the past two seasons, though this is the first time the two sides will meet inside the HTC Center.