Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) scored a career-high 20 points as the College of Charleston women's basketball team rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to take the 64-53 victory over Appalachian State this afternoon at the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C.
The Cougars improve to 9-5 overall and 3-4 in the Southern Conference. The Mountaineers fall to 2-12 and 1-4 in the league.
Charleston and Appalachian State stayed close for most of the first half, with the Mountaineers not able to take more than a four-point lead in the first seven minutes. With the game tied at 12 with 13:10 remaining in the half, ASU used an 11-4 run to build a seven-point, 23-16 with 8:01 to go. Appalachian State increased the margin to nine at one point, before settling with the seven-point, 31-24 lead at intermission.
The Cougars opened the second half with a 15-7 run and took its first lead since early in the first half. Charleston led 39-38 with 13:08 and scored eight straight over the next four minutes to take the nine-point, 47-48 lead with 9:19 remaining. Back to back threes by Sam Ramirez cut the margin to three with 7:46 to play but that would be as close as the Mountaineers would get as CofC outscored ASU, 17-11 down the stretch and took the 11-point 64-53 win.
Following Jones in scoring for the Cougars was Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) with 14, which included a four-for-seven effort from the three-point arc. Nikki Williams (North, S.C.) had 10 points for Charleston. Sarah Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Cougars as well.
Ramirez went five-for-nine from the beyond the three point line to score 23 points and lead Appalachian State. Canesha Edwards led the Mountaineers in rebounds with 11.
After shooting just 30.3 percent in the first half, Charleston exploded on offense in the second and went 13-for-19 for 68.4 percent. The Cougars ended the game with 44.2 percent from the field. Appalachian State shot just 29.2. Charleston out-rebounded Appalachian State, 40-37, but had more turnovers, 18-15. The Mountaineers were perfect from the charity strip at 10-for-10, while the Cougars were 14-for-17.
Charleston next heads down the road to Davidson to take on the Wildcats Monday, Jan. 12 at 7:00 p.m.
