HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- The Anderson offense came alive midway through the second half and the Trojans held on to at least a tie for the top spot in the league with a hard-fought 59-56 win past Coker in Conference Carolinas basketball action Monday night at Timberlake-Lawton Gymnasium. Anderson (8-5, 7-1 Conference Carolinas) has won two in a row and five of its last six, while stretching the Lady Cobras (2-10, 1-6 Conference Carolinas) losing skid to five games. The Lady Cobras' Henna Koponen gave Coker a 40-28 lead, their largest of the game, with 13:47 remaining in the contest, but the Trojans rallied behind the trio of guards Lauren Beeson and Alexa Neal, along with freshman center Maci Siniard. Beeson ignited the rally by sandwiching a pair of baskets around Neal's traditional three-point play within a 55-second span and the Trojans trailed by just five, 40-35, with 10:26 on the clock. The 5-foot-7 guard then drained a long 3-pointer of her own to pull AU to within a deuce, forcing Coker head coach Carol Meegan to call for a 30-second timeout in an effort to slow the Trojans' surge. The contest saw two ties and three lead changes over the next five minutes, with Siniard taking control on the offensive end for the Trojans. The native of Rome, Ga., scored 10 points in less than five minutes, as her stellar effort gave Anderson its first lead since late in the opening half. With AU trailing 42-38, she scored four unanswered points, first on a 17-footer off an assist from Beeson and followed with another bucket to knot the score for the fourth time of the night. Two minutes later Siniard scored six consecutive points for Anderson to give the Trojans a lead they would not surrender at 50-47. Junior guard Ashley Abed followed with five straight and AU held a 55-48 cushion with 2:47 left, but the Trojans misfired on two free throw attempts and committed a turnover in the final moments, while Coker connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to climb back to within 57-56 with just over a minute showing on the clock. The Anderson defense stepped up and forced a turnover with 26.3 seconds remaining and with the Trojans holding the slim lead, Neal stepped to the line and cooly hit both ends of a one-and one to give AU a 59-56 edge with 23.9 ticks left. Coker missed a 3-point attempt on the other end and sent Beeson to the line with less than eight seconds showing, but the junior couldn't capitalize and the Lady Cobras had one last chance to tie. AU's Shanice Wilson then committed a foul, but Coker was unable to get off a game-tying shot in the final moments.The Trojans opened two double-digit leads in the opening half and forced 12 Coker turnovers, but a seven-minute scoring drought by AU allowed Coker to build a 24-21 advantage at the half. "We don't quit," Anderson head coach Jim Brunelli said. "I'm really proud of the team. We played team basketball and great defense in the second half." Neal led all scorers with 17 points, while Siniard added 12 for the Trojans - each netting 10 points in the decisive second half. Neal and Siniard both collected four rebounds and guard Amanda Parris came off the bench to hand out a team-high three assists. The Lady Cobras' Henna Koponen narrowly missed a double-double, scoring a team-best 14 points and recording a game-high nine rebounds on the night. Anderson gets back on the hardwood Thursday night when the Trojans play host to rival Erskine, with tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. at the Abney Athletic Center. Box Score