Charleston makes remarkable comeback for 70-67 overtime win over UNCG

GREENSBORO, NC – The College of Charleston erased an eight-point deficit in the final 63 seconds of the second half and sent the game into overtime where the Cougars held on for a 70-67 win over UNC Greensboro in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Monday night at Fleming Gym.

Sophomore guard Kristen Boone scored a game-high 18 points to lead UNCG (6-9, 2-4 SoCon). The Upper Marlboro, MD native also had six steals and four rebounds. Sophomore center Meghan Chamberlain notched her second straight double-double with 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Junior forward KaLeah Latham added nine points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans.

Marketta Talley had a team-high 17 points for the College of Charleston (6-8, 4-3 SoCon). Jade Hughes and Erica Irick tossed in 16 and 15 points respectively. Sarah Moye had 12 rebounds for the Cougars.

With UNCG leading 60-52 with 1:03 left in regulation, Charleston got a 3-pointer from Irick, two free throws by Talley and another trey from Irick with eight seconds left to send the game into overtime tied 60-60. Boone went the length of the floor at the end of regulation, but her pull up jumper from 16-feet rattled off the rim.

In the extra session, Latham put UNCG up for the final time 65-64 as she connected on one of two free throws with 2:24 showing on the clock. After three consecutive misses by the Spartans from just under the basket, the UNCG bench was whistled for a technical foul.

Talley promptly converted both free throws on the other end to give Charleston a 66-65 lead with 1:03 to go. A missed jumper by junior forward Irene Otamiri forced UNCG to foul. Melissa Chambers calmly drilled two more free throws to put the Cougars up three points, 68-65. A jumper by Chamberlain with 11 seconds left got the home team back to within one, but Irick hit the second of two from the charity stripe for a 69-67 Cougar lead.

Boone again raced the entire length of the floor and got herself in position for what appeared to be a shot at a running layup, but she left it short and Charleston escaped with their first road win of the season in eight attempts.

Trailing for the majority of the game, Charleston ran off a 17-8 spurt to tie the game at 43-43 midway through the second half. It was the first tie of the game since it was 6-6 back in the opening minutes of the game. However, junior guard Jasmine Byrd gave UNCG the lead right back with her only 3-pointer of the game at the 9:13 mark of the second half.

Byrd’s triple jumpstarted an 11-4 run that put the Spartans up 54-47 with 4:13 left in regulation. UNCG opened the lead up to as many as eight points, before Charleston put together their improbable comeback.

In the first half, Talley drained a pair of 3-pointers to give Charleston a 6-0 lead just 67 seconds into the game. UNCG answered with a 17-3 run, fueled by Boone’s eight early points, to grab a 17-9 advantage at the 10:15 mark.

Freshman guard Ashley Ling later gave the Spartans a 27-16 lead with a nice short range jumper from the low block with 3:44 remaining until halftime. The Cougars would close the half on a mini 6-2 run to cut their intermission deficit to 29-22.

Charleston struggled from the field in the opening 20 minutes, converting only 27.6 (8-for-29) percent of its shots, while the Spartans were not much better at 33.3 (10-for-30) percent. Boone and sophomore guard Kemena Brooks, high school teammates at Gwynn Park in Maryland, combined for 18 points in the first half.

Talley, Hughes and Erika Smith were the lone scorers for Charleston in the opening stanza. Talley had 11 points, while Hughes had eight and Smith with three points. The Cougars held a slight, 22-21, advantage on the boards.

UNCG visits Western Carolina on Wednesday for a rare 12 noon tip-off in Cullowhee, NC. Meanwhile, College of Charleston hosts Anderson College on Wednesday at 7 pm in Charleston, SC.

GAME NOTES: Monday night was head coach Lynne Agee’s 700th career game at UNCG... Boone has a steal in all 39 games of her career... UNCG has won the previous nine meetings against Charleston at Fleming Gym... UNCG is 0-2 in overtime games this season and has lost three in a row overall when playing extra time... UNCG lost its first game of the year when leading at halftime.

AGATE
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 70, UNC GREENSBORO 67

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (6-8, 4-3 SoCon)
TALLEY, Marketta 4-12 6-6 17; HUGHES, Jade 6-18 2-4 16; IRICK, Erica 5-13 1-2 15; CHAMBERS, Melissa 3-8 2-2 8; HUNTER, Anne 2-3 0-0 5; SMITH, Erika 2-4 1-3 5; MOYE, Sarah 2-5 0-0 4; WILLIAMS, Christina 0-0 0-0 0; WILLIAMS, Nikki 0-0 0-0 0; GREEN, Tiffany 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-64 12-17 70.

UNC GREENSBORO (6-9, 2-4 SoCon)
BOONE, Kristen 5-15 8-11 18; CHAMBERLAIN, Meghan 6-18 2-3 14; LATHAM, KaLeah 3-7 3-6 9; BROOKS, Kemena 3-7 0-0 8; DIXON, Jasmine 2-3 1-2 5; OTAMIRI, Irene 2-10 0-0 4; LING, Ashley 2-2 0-0 4; BYRD, Jasmine 1-7 0-0 3; CURRENT, Ashley 1-3 0-0 2; BLAIR, Caroline 0-1 0-0 0; GRIMSLEY, Gini 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-75 14-22 67.

Halftime: UNC Greensboro 29-22. 3-point goals-College of Charleston 10-22 (IRICK, Erica 4-7; TALLEY, Marketta 3-7; HUGHES, Jade 2-7; HUNTER, Anne 1-1), UNC Greensboro 3-6 (BROOKS, Kemena 2-2; BYRD, Jasmine 1-3; BOONE, Kristen 0-1). Fouled out--College of Charleston-None, UNC Greensboro-BYRD, Jasmine. Rebounds-College of Charleston 48 (MOYE, Sarah 12), UNC Greensboro 49 (CHAMBERLAIN, Meghan 14). Assists-College of Charleston 12 (HUGHES, Jade 4; MOYE, Sarah 4), UNC Greensboro 5 (CHAMBERLAIN, Meghan 2). Total fouls-College of Charleston 16, UNC Greensboro 16. A-465.

- UNCG -