College of Charleston
Appalachian State
Cougars Fall in Overtime Thriller to Mountaineers, 66-63
1/19/2010 2:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Anna Freeman nailed one of her four three-pointers on the night to cap a 20-6 run and another to give the Mountaineers a three-point lead with 1:04 left in overtime to lead Appalachian State to a 66-63 win over the College of Charleston women's basketball team in front of 207 fans at the Carolina First Arena.
Charleston fell to 12-6 overall and 7-3 in the Southern Conference. The loss was the Cougars' first this season at the Carolina First Arena and the first since a 61-55 decision against Chattanooga Jan. 5, 2009. It also snapped a three-game winning streak. Appalachian State improved to 9-9 overall and 5-4 in the league.
"That was a tough one to lose but I expected it to be a tough game," said Head Coach Nancy Wilson. "They're a matchup that makes our games very competitive. I think the major stat that you look at for them is 21 offensive rebounds. They are very quick to the ball and quick jumpers and we didn't do a good enough job keeping a team like that off of the boards."
The Cougars led 51-37 with 8:52 remaining in the second half before the Mountaineers rattled off eight unanswered en route to a 20-6 run that saw ASU tie the game off the Freeman three-pointer, 57-57, at the two minute mark. Chakeitha Weldon's layup with 1:34 to go gave Appalachian State a two-point lead before a jumper by Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) with 1:07 to go tied the game back up. The teams missed chances to take the lead on both ends over the next minute and the game went into overtime knotted up at 59-59.
Tied 61-61 in overtime, Freeman's three-point basket at 1:04 gave ASU the three-point lead before NeShonda McLaurin's (McColl, S.C.) layup cut the margin to one with 14 seconds left. Canesha Edwards connected on two free throws with eight seconds remaining to take the lead back to three. Freeman blocked a Hughes' three-point attempt as time expired to preserve the 66-63 win.
The Cougars were led by Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) with 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half. Tonia Gerty followed with 13 on the night, including a three-for-four effort from beyond the three-point arc. Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C.) came close to a double-double with nine points and a team-leading nine rebounds. Appalachian State was led by Freeman with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Charleston shot 41.3 percent from the field, while Appalachian State shot 41.5 percent. The Mountaineers out-rebounded the Cougars 49-34, including a 21-10 advantage on the offensive boards. Turnovers were tied at 18 apiece.
The Cougars are next in action Saturday, Jan. 23, when they travel to UNC Greensboro for a 1 p.m. tip.
