CENTRAL, S.C. – The Chowan Women's Basketball team used a strong third quarter to prevail over Southern Wesleyan in Conference Carolinas action to stay alive in the playoff hunt on Wednesday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 69, Southern Wesleyan 58
RECORDS | Chowan 5-19 (5-15), Southern Wesleyan 3-23 (3-17)
LOCATION | Central, S.C. (Tysinger Gym)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Chowan used a strong 31 point outing in the third quarter to lead by double-digits.
Keibra Hopkins and Destiny Robinson led the team with 17 points each. Hopkins and Robinson tallied 29 of the 49 points in the second half.
Mariah Coker posted 13 points. Monique Jones grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
With the win the Hawks pull into a tie for the eighth spot. Both teams ahead of the Hawks, Erskine and Lees-McRae, hold the tiebreaker against Chowan with two games remaining.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter:
Destiny Robinson registered the first points for the Hawks 3:11 into the contest. Mariah Coker knocked down a triple and Brianna Copeland hit a layup to lead 7-3.
Keibra Hopkins traded a triple with the Warriors to stay in front. Southern Wesleyan evened the score at 10-all before a free throw by Mariah Coker led 11-10 at the end of the quarter.
Second Quarter:
Southern Wesleyan went on a 10-2 run to start the quarter to regain the lead, 20-13. Monique Jones added a jumper during the offensive spurt. Mariah Coker knocked down a triple to end the run.
Icez Barnett recorded back-to-back buckets for the Hawks to keep the score close, 24-20. SWU would lead 26-20 at the intermission.
Third Quarter:
Keibra Hopkins would start off the strong scoring effort for the Hawks with a layup. Emaree Hinton completed the three-point play. Hopkins answered a triple at the other end as SWU looked to pull away, 35-28.
Destiny Robinson went on a 7-0 by herself with three baskets and a free throw on an and-one to pull the Hawks within one, 36-35.
After a three-point play by the Warriors, Chowan went on a 14-2 run to finish off the last 3:52 of the quarter. Destiny Robinson started the run with a layup followed by back-to-back jumpers by Aniah Patterson. Patterson added a triple to continue the run along with a layup by Robinson. Mariah Coker added a putback basket before Olivia Gaither capped off the run with a triple before the buzzer to lead 51-41.
Fourth Quarter:
Destiny Robinson continued her scoring with two more baskets. Keibra Hopkins added a free throw as the Warriors chipped away at the deficit.
SWU cut the deficit back to single-digits, 56-48, with 5:00 remaining in the contest before Keibra Hopkins connected from deep to push it back to double-digits. Hopkins added a pair from the stripe.
Mariah Coker added a jumper followed by a 3-4 attempt at the line by Keibra Hopkins to maintain the double-digit lead 66-53 with 1:23 remaining. Coker added a pair from the stripe along with one from Kaylah Henderson to lead 69-55.
SWU hit a three pointer for the final tally of the contest.
UP NEXT
Chowan returns home on Saturday, February 22 as the Hawks host Lees-McRae in a crucial match-up with the Bobcats in Conference Carolinas action. Tip-off is slated for 2pm.
