Box Score
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Chrissy Keir poured in a career-high 15 points but the University of Charleston women's basketball team came up a possession short in a 48-46 loss to Chowan in the first round of the Wolf's Bus Lines Classic at Shippensburg University, Saturday.
Charleston (0-1) came off the opening tip looking to find an offensive set that allowed them to find the basket and were successful in the opening 10 minutes as the Golden Eagles slowly pulled away off the opening tip. Lauren Davis hit a three-pointer at the 12:48 mark to hand UC an 11-3 lead.
Needing to replace 65 points per game they lost to graduation from last season the Golden Eagles lineup came into the contest a little unknown and the early lead left glimpses of what the young lineup is capable of.
Chowan (1-0) was undeterred by the early deficit as they continued to pound the ball inside the paint to get close looks at the basket leading to a slow, but steady scoring session over the final six minutes of the opening half. With three minutes left before heading into the locker room the Hawks had turned the table on Charleston by taking an eight point advantage.
Keir took the ball strong to the rim with the final UC possession of the half drawing a foul and completing the three point play to send the teams into halftime with Chowan ahead 25-22.
The second half saw the Hawks go cold shooting from the floor as they converted just 13 percent of their attempts, but foul trouble plagued UC and allowed CU to get easy points from the charity stripe. Chowan pulled away by as much as 11 points in the second half before the Golden Eagles were able to take advantage of the poor shooting.
Charleston retook the lead with seven minutes left in the game on another Davis shot from behind the arc. UC slipped out to a four point advantage with 4:05 on the clock before a string of fouls allowed the Hawks easy points from the line.
With the Golden Eagles up by one point Chowan converted 1-of-2 free throws after a Kali Cuttia foul to knot the game at 43-43 with 2:13 to play. CU continued to go to the paint to draw fouls in order to keep putting points on the board as the Hawks scored five-straight points in the final two minutes all coming from the free throw line to take a 48-43 lead.
Keir managed a three-pointer to get within two points with just five seconds on the clock, but the Golden Eagles were unable to force a turnover on the ensuing inbound allowed Chowan to secure the 48-46 win.
Keir's 15 points led all Charleston scorers with Davis close behind at 11 points. Freshman Shelby Stokes paced UC with six rebounds, while defensively classmate Kayla Dozier had three steals.
Shooting from the floor was cold all the way around in the contest as UC held the advantage at 29 percent to Chowan's 25 percent. In the second half the Hawks were just 4-of-38 from the floor, yet stayed in contention by going 15-of-24 at the foul line.
