College of Charleston earns first postseason victory with 67-59 decision over Morehead State

MOREHEAD, Ky. – Senior guard Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C.) posted a team-high 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds as the College of Charleston (20-11, 13-7 SoCon) made program history with it's first ever Division I postseason victory in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational. The Cougars defeated Morehead State (22-11, 14-4 OVC) by a score of 67-59 to advance to the second round of the WBI.

Having built a 33-25 lead at the break the Cougars opened up the second half with a 12-6 run to push the lead to 45-31 with 14:33 to play. They would eventually push the margin to 50-34 before MSU narrowed the gap to 59-48 four minutes later. A 7-5 stretch would make it 64-55 with 1:25 to play but the Eagles would only get within the final margin of eight, 67-59, as the Cougars salted away the first-round victory.

In the first half, with the score tied at 2-2, the College of Charleston put together a 9-1 run to build an 11-3 lead at the 15:01 mark before MSU closed to within 17-14 with 10:12 remaining in the half. An 8-1 Cougars' run then stretched the lead to 25-15 slightly less than three minutes later.

The Eagles then cut the margin to 28-23 at the 3:20 mark as junior guard Chynna Bozeman scored eight straight points for Morehead State to fuel an 8-3 run. Senior guard Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C.) answered back with a three-pointer of her own to snap Bozeman's streak and then hit a pair of free throws down the stretch to send the Cougars into the half with a 33-25 advantage.

Junior guard Chynna Bozeman led all scorers with 22 points and a game-high 10-rebounds and was the only double-figure scorer for Morehead State.

Ericka Williams' 19 points and seven rebounds led the College of Charleston while senior center Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C.) added 13 points and eight rebounds.

The College of Charleston will now host No. 6 Bradley, a 69-59 winner over No. 3 Louisville, in the second round of the Women's Basketball Invitational on March 21 at the Carolina First Arena.

NOTES
The victory is the Cougars first in a national postseason tournament at the Division I level ... it is their first postseason victory since the 1980-81 season when the Cougars were at the NAIA level ... with the win, the College of Charleston has now reached 20 wins for the second straight season, marking the first time they have accomplished that since joining Division I in 1991-92.

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Players Mentioned

#41 Deidra Jones: C; 6' 0"; Freshman

#2 Brooke Kotcella: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

#3 Ericka Williams: G; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#41 Deidra Jones
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: C

#2 Brooke Kotcella
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F

#3 Ericka Williams
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: G

Players Mentioned

#41 Deidra Jones

#2 Brooke Kotcella

#3 Ericka Williams

Players Mentioned

#41 Deidra Jones

#2 Brooke Kotcella

#3 Ericka Williams