Coastal Women’s Basketball reached the midpoint of the season, while continuing to establish on-court consistency.
Growth has been gradual due to an influx of transfers and underclassmen, but their potential is evident as chemistry and communication continue to develop.
Injuries have impacted Coastal’s typical player rotation, particularly on the road. Despite holding leads for large portions of their games, the Chanticleers have struggled to maintain them, often wearing early and experiencing decline in late-game offense.
Transfer forward Tessa Grady ranks among the top contributors of the team and has been one of Coastal’s leading scorers this season. Pacing with 229 points, following the team’s matchup against Marshall, she additionally leads with 47 three-pointers and 141 attempted.
In addition to Grady, guard Kristin Williams leads with overall points, collecting 256.Forward Tracey Hueston and forward Kinsea Grimes continue to provide scoring support. Hueston totals 203 points, and Grimes trails close behind at 195, producing additional scoring.
While Coastal has shown stretches of offensive strength and defensive consistency, their ball security has not. Turnovers have amounted to 322, averaging about 18 per game, especially in games where leads were not maintained.
“I mean, we’ve definitely come to a point where there’s no excuse for some of the turnovers that we’re having, especially in the unforced ones,” Hueston said. “And so, we have to lock in on what we know we need to do and then outside of turnovers, I think really just focusing on winning games.”
As Coastal enters the second half of their season, Coastal continues to lean on veteran leadership from players like Grady and team captain Paige Bradley. They are looking to guide their underclassmen and transfers and establish consistency amid conference play.
One steady presence throughout the season has been their coaching staff. Head coach Kevin Pederson reached his 500th career win after the Chanticleers’ victory over Columbia College.
Pederson, as a veteran coach, emphasized the importance of a strong coaching staff to back team efforts.
“I’ve been blessed to have a lot of hardworking, talented, assistant coaches and players. You know, you definitely won’t get to those wins and in my time as a head coach without those two things. So, yeah, I’ve been fortunate,” Pederson said.
