GAFFNEY, S.C. – The third quarter of the Chowan Women's Basketball contest against Limestone was too much for the Hawks in an 85-67 loss in Conference Carolinas play on Wednesday evening despite a strong fourth quarter performance.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 67, Limestone 85

RECORDS | Chowan 3-12 (3-8), Limestone 13-5 (8-4)

LOCATION | Gaffney, S.C. (Timken Center)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Mariah Coker led the Hawks in scoring with 16 points on 4-9 shooting from deep.  Demetria Bland tallied 12 points.

Destiny Robinson, Monique Jones, and Brianna Copeland added eight points each.  Jones and Robinson picked up six rebounds each to lead the team.

Chowan struggled from the line going 12-24 in the contest.  Limestone was not much better going 20-32.

The Hawks would shoot the ball 71 times but connected on 24 shots.  Chowan went 5-20 in the third quarter for 11 points but rebounded with a 28 point outburst in the fourth going 8-15.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter:

Chowan struggled from the floor in the early going as Mariah Coker's three pointer and Demetria Bland's jumper were the only makes in Chowan's first 10 shot attempts.  During that span, Limestone led 12-5.

Demetria Bland knocked down a jumper, but the Saints pushed their lead to double-digits, 17-7.  Teylahna Green connected from the floor and completed the old-fashioned three-point play.  Kaylah Henderson added to the total with a putback to continue to slow the attack cutting the deficit to 17-12.

Chowan's defense held the Saints scoreless the final 3:01 of the quarter.

Second Quarter:

Limestone scored to open the quarter, but Demetria Bland answered with a three pointer.  The Saints continued to maintain a multi-possession lead creating turnovers and finishing at the other end.  Turnovers continued to aid in the Hawks' demise as the Saint's lead increased to 24-15 with three straight turnovers.

Mariah Coker was able to end the offensive stall to spark a 7-1 run with a three pointer following the Chowan timeout.  Aniah Patterson swiped a pass and converted at the other end to trim the deficit to 24-20 with 6:12 remaining in the half.  Destiny Robinson added a layup before the run ended.

Limestone countered with a 9-2 run to lead by double-digits, 34-24.  Destiny Robinson notched the lone bucket during the run.  Teylahna Green posted two freebies before the Saints added two from the stripe.  Mariah Coker connected from the floor with a layup, but the Saints picked up two more points from the stripe.

The Saints took a 40-28 lead into the locker room.

Third Quarter:

Limestone dominated the third quarter outscoring the Hawks 27-11.  The Hawks ended the quarter with a 6-0 run.

Mariah Coker knocked down a triple and a layup, while Aniah Patterson, Monique Jones, and Demetria Bland tallied a bucket each.

Saints lead 67-39 after three quarters.

Fourth Quarter:

Demetria Bland started the scoring with a jumper as the Saints committed five fouls in the 73 seconds of action.  Bland completed the three-point play with the free throw.  Destiny Robinson went 1-2 from the stripe to trim the deficit down to 69-43.

Monique Jones and Destiny Robinson picked up a point each from the stripe as the fouls continued.  Jones connected from the floor before Limestone answered.  Robinson would pick up a layup to keep pace in the quarter.

Mariah Coker knocked down a triple to trim the deficit to 72-52, midway through the final stanza.  Olivia Gaither added a triple before seven straight points by Brianna Copeland closed the gap to 76-63.  Brianna Copeland knocked down a triple and added a three-point play during the stretch.  Gaither added a freebie from the line with 3:23 remaining.

Down the stretch, neither team was able to gain any ground as missed free throws slowed the attack.  Monique Jones added a point from the stripe and added a layup following the second freebie.  Brianna Copeland went 1-2 from the stripe.

Limestone finished off the contest with a pair from the stripe for the 85-67 victory.

UP NEXT

Chowan makes the trip to the mountains to take on Lees-McRae in Banner Elk, N.C. to take on the Bobcats on Saturday, January 18.  Tip-off is slated for 2pm.