College of Charleston
Furman
Cougars Beat Furman 70-58, Clinch Fifth Place in SoCon Standings
3/5/2013 4:15:00 AM | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Four College of Charleston women's basketball players scored in double-figures, led by junior Afreyea Tolbert with 20 points and 14 rebounds as the Cougars earned a historic win, 70-58 at Furman on Monday night.
After a seven-win season last year, the Cougars (15-14, 11-9) were picked to finish 10th in the preseason Southern Conference coaches poll. With the win tonight, CofC finished the regular season at 15-14 and with an 11-9 mark in the conference they finished fifth in the standings.
It marked the fourth time in their 15-year SoCon history that the women's basketball team finished the regular season with at least 15 wins and finished fifth or better in the conference.
With the win, the Cougars earn a first-round bye in the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament and will play Appalachian State in the second round on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. at the Kimmel Arena in Asheville, N.C.
The Cougars were aggressive from the opening tip and finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds and a 58-36 rebounding advantage over Furman (12-17, 8-12). The rebounding total is the third most in school history in the Cougars DI era.
Sophomore Mikaela Hopkins recorded her second consecutive double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Tolbert scored in double-figures for her 10th straight game.
With her four offensive rebounds, senior Cathryn Hardy, who scored 11 points, moved into third on the Cougars DI record list for offensive rebounds in a season with 108.
Junior Alyssa Frye, who added nine points, connected on her 83rd three-pointer of the season to move into seventh on the SoCon record list for threes made in a season.
The Cougars led the entire game and were up by as many as 14 points in the first half, but the Paladins came back and cut the Cougars lead to four at 47-43 with 9:20 remaining in the second half.
The Cougars answered with a 6-0 run and went up 53-43 on a Tolbert layup with 7:54 to go in the game.
The Cougars closed the game out with a 15-9 run in the final five minutes to put the game away and pick up their 15th win of the season.
POSTGAME QUOTES
COFC HEAD COACH NATASHA ADAIR
On the game...
"We were ready and prepared going into this game. I thought our rebounding was huge for us tonight. To finish with 21 offensive rebounds shows we were being aggressive throughout the game. I looked in their eyes near the end of the game and I could see a confidence and a determination about them."
On the growth this season and finishing regular season with 15 wins...
"It has been a year of growth, a year of trust and believing and I'm so proud of my team. Our kids have learned a lot about themselves through this season. Even when we went through a six-game losing streak, I talked about it more as a learning streak. The confidence of our kids is very high right now and they took some risks tonight and played hard."
On going into the Southern Conference Tournament...
"Our kids are still hungry to keep on going. They are not satisfied with what they have accomplished so far. I keep talking about us being the best team in March and that is what we are striving to be. I'm looking forward to a good week of preparation and getting ready for the tournament."
