Coastal Carolina women lose to Wake Forest in Carolinas Challenge

The Coastal Carolina women’s basketball team fell into a hole early Friday night.

And while the Chanticleers showed signs of life late in the game, Wake Forest buried them too deep.

The Deacons’ Milan Quinn had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Amber Campbell finished with a game-high 23 points to lead Wake Forest to an 81-52 victory over Coastal Carolina in the Carolinas Challenge at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

“I think the first half we were a little too jittery and jumpy,” Chanticleers coach Jaida Williams said. “In the second half, we did a much better job of taking care of the basketball and did a much better job of executing.”

The Deacons opened the game on a 25-6 run in which Quinn scored 10 points and Campbell had nine to set the tone early on. Wake Forest also forced 22 turnovers in the first half and entered the break with a commanding 45-20 advantage.

Coastal turned it up in the second half behind the play of Yasmin Miller, who had 11 of her team-high 13 points after halftime.

“Yasmin did a great job of attacking,” Williams said. “She wasn’t afraid at all, and she played a good game. I’m glad for her.”

The Chanticleers also shot 40.7 percent (11-for-27) as a team in the second half after shooting just 23.1 percent (6-for-26) in the first.

“We did a much better job in the second half. We just can’t come out all jittery, trying to make things happen,” Williams said. “We’ve got to trust the system and let the system work for us.”

Wake Forest coach Jen Hoover was looking for her team to just come out with some intensity. Her players certainly didn’t let her down.

“I’m really excited for our kids. We’ve been talking to them about putting an entire 40 minutes together and try to get a better start. So that was our emphasis coming in -- trying to play with a lot of passion,” Wake Forest coach Jen Hoover said. “I really felt like we responded to that, did that early and we were able to carry that momentum throughout.”

Hoover also gave props to Williams and the Coastal Carolina program.

“They’re hard to defend because they have so many different styles of players. They score in a different way, they play hard and they never quit,” Hoover said of Coastal. “Even at the end, I’m fussing at our kids because they’re scoring in a different way toward the end of the game. There is never fear in their eyes or anything like that. Much like us, we both need to continue to do better and continue to build on what we’ve been able to do at this point. We just have to keep believing in each other.”

Williams noted the benefits of playing a team like the Demon Deacons and what it might do for her squad in the thick of their Big South conference schedule.

“With a team of that physicality, I think it helps because we have a very, very physical conference,” she said. “So we’ll take away some things from this game and implement it when we get into conference play. I think it’s really good for us. I’m really grateful for Jennifer bringing Wake Forest down here to play us. I think it’s an invaluable experience for our student-athletes.”

Meanwhile, Hoover said she hopes it won’t be her team’s last trip to the Grand Strand.

“I’ve been here for the past two years recruiting. Amber Campbell played [in the CresCom Bank Holiday Invitational] two years ago, and last year I was here. So I said, ‘we’re just going to play in it since I’m gonna drive over here anyway,’” Hoover said. “We’ve had a great time and it’s been a great trip for us. We’d love to come back.”

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 11:13 PM with the headline "Coastal Carolina women lose to Wake Forest in Carolinas Challenge."