Lady Falcons Use Big First Half to Knock Out Lady Cobras

by Christian Stryker, SID Coker College
3/3/2009

Hartsville, S.C. - The Lady Cobras battled back from a 26 point halftime deficit, to come with six points with just minutes remaining in the game, but Pfeiffer used nine straight free throws down the stretch to take home a 97-87 win in the first round of the 2009 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Tournament.

The win advances Pfeiffer (9-19, 8-14) to the conference quarterfinal match-up on Wednesday, while Coker (11-16, 9-11) ends their season with the best record in Coach Carol Meegan's four year tenure at Coker.

The Lady Falcons dominated the Lady Cobras in the first half, 54-28, while Coker battled their way back in the final 20 minutes, out scoring Pfeiffer, 59-43. Coker's strong second half, helped even the statistics as well, as the Pfeiffer only held slight advantages in rebounding; 46-41 and shooting; 45.7 percent to 41.3 percent .

Henna Koponen (Vantaa, Finland) led all scorers with 29 points and five rebounds, while senior Jessica Hayes (Beaufort, SC) finished her career with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds. Lotta Aaltonen (Rauma, Finland) netted 19 points and had seven rebounds, with Alexis Blow getting a career high 14 points and four rebounds for the Lady Cobras.

Leading Pfeiffer was Devona Knight with a 16 point, 16 rebound double-double, with Dominique China pouring in 20 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Allegra Shanee Purnell had 18 points and four rebounds, with Nicole Maready quietly chipping in 14 points and pulling down seven rebounds from the post, with Curly Booth also getting into double figures with 12 points.

Pfeiffer will make a quick turn around and play the 1 seed Barton tomorrow night in the quarterfinals of the tournament, while Coker ends their season with their highest win total since 2003.

Crusaders Bounce Cobras from Tournament, 89-80

Courtesy of Chris Poore, Belmont Abbey SID
3/3/2009

Belmont, N.C. - The Belmont Abbey men's basketball team shot 50 percent from the floor as three Crusaders reached double figures in an 89-80 win over Coker this evening in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 Conference Carolinas Tournament. The Abbey improves to 20-8, while Coker ends its season with a 15-14 mark. The Abbey's 20 wins are the most in a season since 2002-03, when it finished 24-7 and won the Conference Carolinas Tournament at Pfeiffer. The win gives the Abbey a season sweep (3-0) of the Cobras this year.

The Abbey led from the start as it never trailed and built its lead to as high as 24 points at 61-37. Junior forward Alex Pledger led the Crusaders with 18 points on seven of ten shooting, with six rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal in 17 minutes. Senior guard Jonathan Jackson added 17 points on six of ten shooting, while Chad Patus posted a double double with 15 points, ten rebounds and five assists. Deonte Murphy posted four assists. Belmont Abbey shot 50.9 percent (27-53) from the field and went to the free throw line 40 times, converting 32 (80 percent).

Coker shot 43.5 percent (30-69) as Josh Poston led all scorers with 29 points, while Stevie Evans added 19 and Vatrick Thompson contributed with 11.

With the win, the Abbey advances to the semifinal round, where it will host the seventh seeded Erskine Flying Fleet, which upset second seeded Mount Olive 54-52 on its home court, Thursday night at 7:00 at the Wheeler Center.

Lady Cobras Playoff Game Postponed

by Christian Stryker, Coker College SID
3/2/2009

Hartsville, S.C. - The Coker College women's basketball game against Pfeiffer University scheduled for Monday, March 2, at 7:00 p.m. has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 3 due to inclement weather.

The Lady Cobras will postpone their 2009 Conference Carolinas first round tournament game until 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Timberlake-Lawton Gymnasium. The winner of Coker/Pfeiffer game will traveling to Barton College on Wednesday, to play the Lady Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m.

Cobras Knock Lees-McRae from Conference Tournament

by Christian Stryker, SID Coker College
2/28/2009

Hartsville, S.C. - The Cobra Men's Basketball Team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2009 Conference Carolinas Basketball Tournament on Saturday night with a 73-64 win over the Lees-McRae Bobcats. Coker (15-13, 10-10), the 6 seed in the tournament, was able to out shoot Lees-McRae (2-29, 2-18), the 11 seed, 50 percent to 35.9 percent on their way to the victory.

Early in the game, the basketball gods looked to be favoring Lees-McRae as the Bobcats held as much as a five point lead through the first 10 minutes of play, but a Vatrick Thompson (Columbia, SC) dunk, awoke the Cobra fans and the team and after a 12-3 run to end the half, Coker held a nine point, 40-31 lead.

The second half started much like the first, as the Cobras went on a quick 8-0 run. Although, Lees-McRae battled their way back to within six points with just under 10 minutes to play, that would be as close as the Cobras would allow the Bobcats to get.

Leading the Coker offensive attack was the big man Mason Ambler (Atlanta, GA) as he flirted with his first triple double of the year, but came up a few assists short, knocking down 18 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out five assists. Thompson also had a big night with 15 points and three rebounds, while Josh Poston (Myrtle Beach, SC) chipped in 12 points and six rebounds for the Cobras.

For Lees-McRae, Kyle Boardman and Sam Youse each had 14 points, with Boardman pulling down nine rebounds and Youse grabbing four, while Aaron Woodacre had 13 points and five rebounds and Jesse Hoots had 10 points.

Coker now advances to face the 3 seed Belmont Abbey on Monday in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Belmont Abbey.

Koponen and Aaltonen Named All-Conference

Courtesy of Conference Carolinas Office
2/27/2009

High Point, NC- Conference Carolinas announced the All-Conference Teams, Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Freshmen of the Year award winners in conjunction with the Conference Carolinas Basketball Tournament Championships that will begin this weekend. Head Coaches from conference member institutions nominate and then vote on the award winners who represent the best of the best for the conference.

Women's All-Conference 1st-Team
Esty Flores, Barton
Tomeka Prichard, Mount Olive
Audrey Timmerman, Erskine
Jasmine Whitby, Mount Olive
Marissa Hudley, Queens

Women's All-Conference 2nd-Team
Keana Boyd, Anderson
Henna Koponen, Coker
Shayla Jackson, Belmont Abbey
Sara Fleming, Barton
Porsha Morgan, Erskine

Women's All-Conference Honorable Mention
Alexa Neal, Anderson
Blanca Gonzalez, Limestone
Cortney Naquin, Belmont Abbey
Lotta Aaltonen, Coker
Devona Knight, Pfeiffer

Freshman of the Year Porsha Morgan, Erskine

Player of the Year Esty Flores, Barton

Coach of the Year Jessica Ridgell, Erskine

Poston and Ambler Named All-Conference

Courtesy of Conference Carolinas Office
2/27/2009

High Point, NC- Conference Carolinas announced the All-Conference Teams, Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Freshmen of the Year award winners in conjunction with the Conference Carolinas Basketball Tournament Championships that will begin this weekend. Head Coaches from conference member institutions nominate and then vote on the award winners who represent the best of the best for the conference.

Men's All-Conference 1st-Team
Kendrick Easley, Mount Olive
L.J. Dunn, Barton
Richard Barbee, Belmont Abbey
Brandon Young, Anderson
Brandon Wright, Erskine

Men's All-Conference 2nd-Team
Chris Woods, Pfeiffer
Aaron Suggs, Barton
Robert McGriff, Pfeiffer
Josh Poston, Coker
Chad Patus, Belmont Abbey

Men's All-Conference Honorable Mention
Mason Ambler, Coker
Mike Holloman, Mount Olive
Craig Hayes, Mount Olive
Justin Melton, Mount Olive
Jonathan Jackson, Belmont Abbey

Freshman of the Year: Daniel Bailey, Queens

Player of the Year: Kendrick Easley, Mount Olive

Coach of the Year: Joey Higginbotham