WBB Twitter | WBB Facebook | WBB Instagram | Tickets | Championship Central
ASHEVILLE, N.C. --- Amanda Coffer hit the game-winning three as time expired to give eighth-seeded Campbell a 67-64 victory over ninth-seeded Coastal Carolina in the first round of the 2016 Big South Women's Basketball Championship on Thursday afternoon. The Lady Camels (13-17) advance to take on top-seeded UNC Asheville in Friday's first quarterfinal at noon.
Coffer finished with a season-high 29 points to go with seven rebounds and four blocks, which was a new Big South Championship first round record. RaeChaun Edwards and Summer Price added eight points each, while Edwards dished out a game-high seven assists. MaKala Rouse matched Coffer's game-high seven rebounds and scored five points.
A Nicole Isaacs three gave Coastal Carolina (12-18) its first lead of the game since early in the first period at 60-58 with 2:51 left to play. Edwards tied the game with a jumper and following a missed three by Isaacs, Coffer hit a short jumper to put CU up 62-60 with 1:48 left.
Out of a timeout, the Lady Camels forced a Chanticleer turnover but couldn't extend the lead as Coffer missed a bucket. Ced Gibson tied the game at 62-62 with one minute on the clock before Coffer hit the go-ahead layup back down the court with 37 seconds left.
Gibson was sent to the free throw line in the ensuing possession and hit a pair of clutch free throws to tie the game at 64-64 with 22 seconds showing on the clock. CU called its last timeout and Edwards appeared to hold for the last shot out of the break.
With the clock ticking down, Coffer received a pass from Edwards with less than five seconds to go. She grabbed the ball and put up the long game-winner as the final horn sounded. It is the fourth-straight year that Campbell won a postseason contest.
Gibson and Jas Adams scored two-thirds of Coastal Carolina's points with 26 and 20 respectively. Gibson added a team-high six rebounds and five assists. CU out-scored CCU 34-22 in points in the paint while holding a 40-32 rebounding advantage. The Lady Camels forced 13 Chanticleer turnovers and scored 14 points off them.
A Sarah Smith jumper gave CU its first lead of the day at 8-6 with 4:52 left to play in the first period. The Lady Camel advantage was still two before back-to-back threes by Rouse and Coffer made it an 8-0 run to end the first and give CU an 18-10 lead after one.
The run continued into the second period with an early Edwards jumper and a Coffer trey that made it 13 unanswered points. It finished as a 16-0 spurt when a Gibson three cut the Lady Camel deficit to 28-13 midway through the second.
Gibson made it back-to-back triples and trimmed the lead to 12 with a jumper, but a Caroline Bowns three pointer pushed CU's advantage back to 15 at 35-20 with 1:37 left in the second. A pair of Rouse free throws and one final first half jumper for Gibson finished the second period as Campbell took a 37-22 lead to the halftime locker room.
Campbell led by as many as 17 early in the third period, but a 14-4 run brought Coastal with seven of the lead (45-38) with 3:50 left in the third. A 6-0 spurt for CU increased the advantage back to 13 before a Yasmin Miller layup with four seconds left in the third cut the deficit to 53-43 heading to the fourth period.
Campbell now turns its attention to UNC Asheville for the quarterfinals. The teams split the two regular season meetings with each winning on the opposing court. The Bulldogs took home a 72-58 victory at Gore Arena on January 2 while The Lady Camels pulled a 64-56 upset on the tournament floor last Saturday. Price led the way in CU's win with 23 points on the back of a season-high four three pointers.
It will be the second ever meeting between the Bulldogs and Lady Camels in the Big South Championship Quarterfinals. CU defeated UNCA en route to winning the 1989 conference championship.
Video coverage of tomorrow's game can be found on ESPN3 while gameday audio can be heard on gocamels.com with Bill Priestly on the call. Live stat links can also be found on gocamels.com. Full tournament information including the entire bracket, fan guide and broadcast information can be found on the championship central page at bigsouthsports.com
