Coastal Carolina University’s women’s basketball team lost to Old Dominion University (ODU) Jan. 10 in the HTC Center.
When it came to fast breaks, ODU was much quicker down the court, which allowed them to take advantage of more open shots and layups. Ultimately, ODU dominated both sides of the ball resulting in a loss for the Chanticleers and a final score of 71-57.
Early in the first quarter, Coastal struggled to get the rhythm going. However, with just six minutes left, junior guard Arin Freeman put the first points on the board for the Chanticleers. Freeman kept up this momentum, going on to score most of their points and CCU ended the first quarter trailing by two, with a score of 12-10.
Although Freeman carried this into the next quarter, she faced issues with fouling and was later subbed out. By halftime, after losing Freeman, the team was down by 16 points, 35-19.
CCU’s head women’s basketball coach Kevin Pederson said he was proud of Freeman’s performance and has enjoyed watching her mature as a player.
“Arin Freeman was outstanding, and I thought Arin Freeman was the best player on the floor tonight. She played really tough,” he said. “Her attitude was great. She really competed out there.”
Heading into the third quarter, Freeman was back on the court and continued dominating with layups and free throws. In the middle of the third quarter, she had close to 20 points and multiple offensive rebounds. Despite this, the team continued to struggle defensively and was outplayed by ODU’s offense.
Sophomore Jalen Woodberry said he thought it was a good game but wanted to see more out of Coastal’s offense and defense.
“Coastal wasn’t really shooting that high of a percentage, you know? From what I saw in the first half, the girls got outplayed,” he said.
Pederson said the team is one of the youngest in the league, which was most likely a contributing factor in this game, making it crucial for them to focus on growth and building the players up.
“I think we’ve got a bright future with the talent we have here. They’re young so some games you’ll look young and then some you’ll [look] a little bit more experienced,” Pederson said.
