Coastal Carolina’s Richardson scores 21 points in road loss at Southern Miss

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Deaja Richardson scored team-high 21 points as the Coastal Carolina women’s basketball team fell 80-68 to the Southern Miss Lady Eagles in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Chanticleers dropped to 11-14 on the season and 6-8 in Sun Belt Conference action, while the Lady Eagles improved to 16-9 overall and 9-5 in league play with the win

Richardson was aided on the offensive end by Aja Blount and Miriam Recarte with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Guards Arin Freeman and Anaya Barney added seven and six points each, while Helena Delaruelle and Blount led the team with eight and six rebounds, respectively.

Southern Miss was led by Domonique Davis with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, as the Lady Eagles had five players reach double-digit scoring. Morgan Dillard recorded a career-high 14 points, while Lani Cornfield, Jacorriah Bracey, and Melyia Grayson tallied 13, 13, and 10 points each.

In the opening quarter, Coastal raced out to a 7-1 advantage with a 7-0 burst, as Recarte sparked the run with a three-point jumper from the top of the key and capped by a layup by Freeman. After a Southern Miss three-point shot, Coastal answered with a 10-2 surge, highlighted by six consecutive points by Blount, to run out to a 17-8 lead.

The Chanticleers scored four of the final six points of the first quarter for a 20-10 advantage, including Blount hitting a pair of free throws to lead CCU with 10 points.

Coastal continued its hot scoring in the second quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 17-point lead at 29-12, as Blount scored the Chants’ first four points. However, despite trailing 29-12, the Lady Eagles used a 21-6 run over the final seven minutes of the second period to cut the Southern Miss deficit to just two points at 35-33, highlighted by nine points by Davis.

After a Lady Eagle basket evened the game at 35-35, CCU’s Recarte answered with a long-range three-point jump shot only to see the home team use a 9-0 surge to take a six-point advantage at 44-38, as Davis made a layup and a three-pointer.

Coastal’s Jordyn Newsome and Freeman cut the Southern Miss to 46-44 as the duo sandwiched a Davis jump shot with a pair of three-pointers.

However, the Lady Eagles opened up a 10-point lead at 59-49 via a 13-5 run, ignited by a pair of Grayson free throws and topped off with an old-fashioned three-point play by Grayson. The two teams traded the final seven points of the third quarter with Southern Miss leading 62-53 with 10 minutes remaining to play.

In the fourth and final quarter, the Lady Eagles and the Chanticleers played even for the first four minutes as Southern Miss maintained a 10-point lead at 72-62. CCU’s Richardson made 1-of-2 from the free throw line and knocked down a three-point jump shot with 2:06 remaining on the game clock as the Chants trail 74-68. The Lady Eagles scored the final six points for the final margin of 80-68, including going 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Coastal Carolina will remain on the road, as the Chanticleers will travel to Troy, Ala., to take on the Troy Trojans on Thursday, Feb. 16, before finishing the road portion of it regular season on Saturday at Georgia Southern (Feb. 18) in Statesboro, Ga. The opening tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Thursday and 2 p.m. ET on Saturday.