CCU Draws Tough Foe After First League Win: Big South Favorite High Point Big Test for Lady Chants

By Ian Guerin, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Jan. 28–CONWAY — The Coastal Carolina women’s basketball team avoided what would have been a devastating start to the Big South Conference season.

The Chanticleers got their first league victory on Monday against Birmingham-Southern.

Their reward? The Chants now have to follow it up against league favorite High Point just days after the Panthers knocked off perennial conference front-runner Liberty.

“Until somebody beats Liberty, Liberty is going to the favorite,” coach Alan LeForce said. “But I wasn’t surprised they [High Point] beat Liberty, especially at High Point.”

Coastal (10-5, 1-3 Big South) will take on the Panthers (13-4, 4-0) at 2 p.m. today at Kimbel Arena. And while the game is by no means make-or-break for the Chants, another home loss makes Coastal’s up-hill climb that much tougher.

CCU’s victory over Birmingham-Southern kept the Chants out of the Big South basement, but not by much. Only Birmingham-Southern and Charleston Southern are below Coastal.

Beating High Point, though, would mean that much more for Coastal.

The Panthers have the league’s second-leading scorer in Katie O’Dell (15.4 points per game). O’Dell is also sixth in rebounding.

She has helped High Point beat league opponents by an average of 10 per game.

Coastal, meanwhile, has the highest scoring average among Big South teams while holding opponents to the fewest points. That stat might not help the Chants defeat High Point, but LeForce thinks getting the Panthers at Kimbel increases the chances of an upset.

“I think we can play with them,” LeForce said. “Whether we can beat them, I don’t know. If we can hang around, hang around.”

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