Cougars Fall to Seahawks, 56-41

Saturday, December 2

Wilmington, NC

2:00 PM

College of Charleston

UNCW

12/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: CofCSports.com

The College of Charleston women's basketball team could not overcome a season-low 18.2 first half shooting percentage that saw the team score only 10 points in the first 20 minutes and fell to the UNC Wilmington Seahawks, 56-41, in front of 335 fans at Trask Coliseum in Wilmington, N.C.

The Cougars drop to 2-5 on the year, while the Seahawks improve to 4-3 overall. Charleston takes off for exams and resumes action at Statesboro, Ga., Dec. 16th in a 5:00 p.m. contest.

With the Seahawks trailing 6-8 in the first half, UNCW went on a 13-2 run over the next 11 minutes to build a 19-10 advantage and never relinquished its lead. The Seahawks took a 21-10 edge into the locker room as Greta Luksyte scored her only bucket of the game on a jump shot off the glass as time expired.

In the first half, the College of Charleston shot a dismal 18.2 percentage from the field, and did not score a basket from 12:00 to go in the half to the 1:14 mark, when a lay-up by Brooke Kotcella ended the drought.

After a jumper in the lane from Stephanie Fernald gave the Seahawks a 44-32 lead, the College of Charleston went on a 9-3 run, capped off by a lay-up from Smith, over the next 2:40 to cut the score to six at 47-41 in the second half. UNCW responded with two free throws from Taylor with 1:58 on the clock and held on for the win.

The Seahawks recorded only one field goal over the final five minutes of play, but drained 10 of 11 shots from the free throw line in the victory.

Jade Hughes led College of Charleston with 14 points, including 4-of-8 shooting from behind the arc, while teammate Erika Smith ended the night with 13 points, with seven coming from the charity stripe. Melissa Chambers paced the team with six rebounds. Lori Drake led the Seahawks with 15 points and 16 rebounds for the double-double.

Charleston ended the game, shooting 27.8 percent, while UNC Wilmington finished with 34.8. The Seahawks out-rebounded the Cougars 45-32 and had the 23-19 edge in turnovers.