HARTSVILLE, SC – Coker lost a defensive contest 56-48 to Lees-McRae Saturday afternoon in women’s collegiate basketball.  The Cobras drop to 4-6 overall and 1-2 in the conference, while LMC improves to 5-5 and 2-1 in the CVAC.

Coker held a slight advantage during the early stages of Saturday’s game but the Bobcats took advantage of foul trouble for Coker’s Michelle Glover/Beaufort, SC and Shamae Hemingway/Conway, SC and built a 28-18 lead at the break.  Glover and Hemingway were forced to the bench with two fouls each for more than half of the period.

The Cobras got the lead back under ten points early in the second half and made a 10-4 run to grab a 42-40 advantage with 5:55 to play.  The proved to be short lived, however, with Amber Benfield draining a three-pointer on the following possession to retake the lead for good.  CC had trouble scoring down the stretch and the Bobcats out-scored Coker 16-6 in the last 5:30 of the game.

Sophomore India Elliott/Faison, NC had a team-high 14 points and grabbed six rebounds.  Freshman Tyesha Ervin/Darlington, SC scored 10 points and had two steals as well.  Hemingway was limited to eight points and four rebounds before fouling out in 17 minutes, and Glover totaled six points and five boards in 19 minutes.  Junior Justina Dakins/Barron, WI grabbed a team-best nine rebounds.

Lees-McRae’s freshman standout Stephanie Mullinax led all scorers with 22 points and six rebounds and Deanna Lady finished with 11 points and 11 boards.

Both teams shot under 40 percent from the floor and were a combined 3-25 from three-point range.  LMC put the game away at the foul line, where they connected on 17-21 attempts for the day.

Coker will attempt to regroup on Monday, January 10, at Erskine.  The game is scheduled for a 5:30 PM tip-off.