Isaacs sisters share spotlight on Senior Day, help Chanticleers to win

After transferring from Fairleigh Dickinson to Coastal Carolina for her final two collegiate seasons, Stephanie Isaacs says she quickly felt at home with the Chanticleer women’s basketball team – and the university in general.

But there was still something missing.

“I wanted to transfer because I just wanted a different feel. I love FDU and the coaching staff there, but transferring here was perfect. I love the beach, the coaching staff was awesome so it was just a perfect fit for me,” she said. “[And] after the first year I was here, I was like, ‘Nic, this school’s awesome, you should really come, you should at least try to check it out.’”

Twin sister Nicole Isaacs would follow suit and transfer from Manhattan, sitting out last year per NCAA rules before joining her sister on the court this season. On Saturday afternoon, they were honored as the team’s lone seniors after helping the Chants to a 76-59 win over Winthrop in their regular-season finale at The HTC Center.

Junior guard Ced Gibson scored a team-high 14 points off the bench, sophomore forward Josie Utley had 13 points and 12 rebounds, Nicole Isaacs scored 12 and Stephanie Isaacs added 10. The sisters also notched three steals each to help key the defensive effort.

“It’s everything. You just picture winning Senior Night so it’s kind of everything you ask for,” Nicole said afterward.

It was a big win for the team as a whole, as the Chants (12-17, 7-13) now head into the Big South tournament next week with a little momentum, having won five of their final eight regular-season games.

They’ll enter the tournament as the No. 9 seed and draw No. 8 Campbell in the first round Thursday in Asheville, N.C. The Chants lost both regular-season meetings to the Fighting Camels, but coach Jaida Williams is confident in her team’s potential to make a postseason run.

“I think anytime we can have positive momentum going into the tournament, it’s an awesome thing so I’m really excited about the way we played,” she said. “I think we’re pretty capable if we come in every single day to hopefully win four in a row.”

As for the win Saturday, Coastal Carolina jumped out to a 19-12 lead after the first quarter against Winthrop (4-25, 3-17) and led the rest of the way.

It was a career day for Utley, whose previous career bests were six points and seven rebounds. She was making just her sixth start of the season.

“I’m just really happy that she’s able to see the fruit of her labor, but it also relieves scoring pressure from Ced, it relieves scoring pressure form Nicky and I think it opens the floor for Dionne [Parker] to be able to do what she does down low,” Williams said.

And again, it was a memorable day for the Isaacs – just as this whole season has been, really.

“Really special. It’s been our dream, so to do it is a huge accomplishment,” Nicole said. “Steph transferred first and I kind of just followed. She was happy here, loved coach. It was hard [to transfer], but the first thing I ever wanted was to play with my sister so that came before everything.”

Said Stephanie: “It’s been great. Ups and downs, that’s part of basketball, but overall it’s been a great year. Especially having my sister here. We played together our whole lives and then we separated for college so it’s nice to be able to play our last two years together.”

Nicole ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game and leads the Chants with 65 3-pointers, while Stephanie has averaged 4.9 points. Saturday was her fourth double-digit scoring performance of the season.

“They’ve meant so much,” Williams said. “I’m just really blessed and lucky to have coached both of them. They’re great pepole and great students. There’s never been a time they’ve come in and given half effort. I was just really, really lucky to have two quality class-act student-athletes comes through this program.”

This story was originally published March 5, 2016 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Isaacs sisters share spotlight on Senior Day, help Chanticleers to win."