GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College women's basketball team fell in their season opener on Wednesday (Nov. 7) to Furman by a score of 71-42.
The Cobras came out of the gates quickly and got the first points of the 2018-19 campaign when Shay Jackson drained a three one minute into play. After a jumper by Ashauntee Nelson and a layup from Saquita Joyner, the Cobras would head into the first media timeout with a 7-5 advantage over the Paladins. Coming out of the media timeout, Amanda Cherry hit a jump shot to push the Coker lead to four with just under five to play in the first quarter. Furman managed to tie it up at nine before the Cobras jumped back out in front following Erin Houser's made basket. Furman would score the final five points of the quarter to take a 14-11 lead into the second quarter.
After a close first quarter, the Paladins began to pull away in the second, going on a 17-4 run to push their lead to 31-15 late in the quarter. Hannah Stull, Joyner, and Nelson all hit jump shots during the second quarter and Furman would take a 33-17 lead into halftime.
Nelson pushed her point total to six with a layup two minutes into the third quarter, and fellow freshman Joyner followed suit by banking in a layup of her own. Jackson hit her second three-ball of the night with four minutes remaining in the quarter and a free throw from Houser trimmed the deficit to 21. Hope Richardson picked up her first career points and drew a foul late in the quarter. Richardson managed to make the ensuing free throw to make it 54-29.
Janell Horton found the scoresheet one minute in the fourth quarter, while Avahna Baker also scored her first career point with a layup with five to play. Haliyah Sumter closed out the game with a jumper with just 18 seconds left and a three at the buzzer.
Nelson led the Cobras in scoring with seven points, while Jackson, Joyner, and Sumter each tallied six points in the game. Houser, Richardson, Cherry, and Horton all scored three points. Baker and Stull notched two points, and Taiylar DeMoss added one.
The Cobras will be back in action on Friday (Nov. 9) when they travel to Belmont Abbey to take on King University in the Conference Carolinas/SAC Showdown.