CONWAY, SC – Junior forward Aja Blount scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the 88-56 victory at Coastal Carolina State South Carolina on Saturday at the HTC Center at the opening of the season for both teams.
Blount, the team’s top scorer with 15.0 points in a game last season and an All-Sun Belt pick in the preseason, was one of five Chantecers to hit the double digits. Junior forward Janeen Camp and junior guard Tyra Brown each had 15 points while the guards Alana Denson and Kaylin West added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Senior guard Heniaya Moton had the best game score, 28 points for SC State.
Blount and West combined for a 10-0 streak at the start of the second half to put the game out of reach, 56-29. Coastal achieved his biggest advantage at the end of the game on a reserve guard tray Brali Simmons in the final minute. Head coach Jaida Williams played 11 players, with 10 finding the score column.
Blount, who played just 30 minutes, got his points on 6 of 9 shots close up and hit 5 of 6 free throws. Overall, Coastal hit half of his shots (34 of 68) and hit SC State, 37-24. The Chanticleers also hit 14 out of 21 free throws, including 10 out of 13 in the first quarter.
Coastal jumped forward quickly, succeeding in the charity belt, to help build a 24-9 lead at the end of the first period. Blount had nine of his points in the range, when Coastal had a 44-27 lead. She had six points in a 14-2 run that put the Chanticleers ahead 38-13 in the second half. Moton scored 15 of SC State’s 27 points in the interval.
Coastal will travel to play at NC State on December 6, before returning home on December 11 to host UNC Pembroke for the home game’s first three games.
For complete coverage of CCU women’s basketball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalWBB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of the Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.