College of Charleston Makes the Plays Late to Top Women's Basketball
2/10/2013 1:21:37 AM | Women's Basketball
PHOTO GALLERY: 8th Annual Pack the House in Pink Day
VIDEO: Postgame interview with coach Chris Vozab
STATESBORO, Ga. – Alyssa Frye scored 18 points, and College of Charleston outscored Georgia Southern 10-3 in the final four minutes to earn a 65-60 Southern Conference women's basketball victory Saturday evening in Hanner Fieldhouse.
After Meredyth Frye (right) gave Georgia Southern (4-18, 3-10 SoCon) a 57-55 lead on a pair of free throws, Cathryn Hardy tied the game with a jumper and Latisha Harris scored on a putback. Hardy added a fastbreak layup to give the Cougars a four-point lead with 1:28 to play.
Danielle Spencer hit 1-of-2 free throws for the Eagles, but on the second attempt, Harris was whistled for elbowing Eagle guard Anna Claire Knight, giving the Eagles two shots and possession of the ball. Jordi Cook hit 1-of-2 from the line, but MiMi DuBose's runner rolled out, leaving the margin at two points with 40 seconds to go.
The Eagles fouled Jillian Brown, who entered the game shooting 54.8 percent from the free-throw line, but the junior drilled them both. Frye missed a runner on the other end for the Eagles, and Harris got the board and made two free throws to seal the win.
"Too many times down the stretch, we had chances for rebounds and were unable to grab the ball, chin it and secure it, and each time we lost the ball, it led directly to points," said Georgia Southern coach Chris Vozab. "I think we also got out of our offensive system and tried to force the issue late in the game. It's frustrating because for so much of the game, we made the extra pass and the right play. We need to make sure we stay within the system, especially late in the game."
Spencer finished with career highs of 15 points and 12 rebounds for Georgia Southern, Knight collected 14 points and six rebounds and Frye finished with 14 points and four assists.
Hardy and Brown each scored 11 for College of Charleston (10-12, 6-7 SoCon), and Harris finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.
With the Eagles leading 38-37 early in the second half, Cook hit consecutive triples and Frye hit a pair of free throws to push the margin to 46-37. Alyssa Frye scored six points in an 11-2 CofC run that tied the game 48-48. The game saw three ties and three lead changes from there to set up the frantic finish.
Back-to-back buckets by Meredyth Frye sparked an 8-2 Georgia Southern run, and the Eagles took a 16-9 lead on a Spencer putback midway through the first half. After a jumper by Ronnesha Smith made the score 21-14, the Cougars surged ahead with a 13-0 run, sparked by triples from Frye and Megan Fischer, and a Hardy free throw put CofC ahead 27-21 with 3:03 to go in the half.
Knight answered with a 3-pointer for the Eagles, and after a free throw by CofC's Afreyea Tolbert, Spencer scored the final four points of the period to tie the score 28-28 at the break.
The Eagles hit the road for a mid-week SoCon game at Western Carolina Wednesday before returning home to host Samford and Chattanooga in Hanner Fieldhouse next weekend.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.
