ANDERSON, S.C. – Led by senior Brittney Stafford's game-high 17 points and gritty play by freshman Ashlyn Sheridan, Anderson University (10-7, 4-3 SAC) grinded out a home win over Coker (5-11, 0-8 SAC) on Wednesday evening at the Abney Athletic Center.
"This was a big win for us today against a team that is much better than their record," said head coach Jonathon Barbaree. "I saw a lot of grit from our players, especially at the end of the second quarter from our bench and then again in the fourth quarter when we fell behind."
"If you expect to win close games, you have to go through some tight situations like that to be prepared", added Barbaree.
"We have to use this momentum with a tough stretch of games on the road coming up," exclaimed Barbaree.
After the Cobras won quarter number one, 18-16, the Trojans would fall behind by eight points with 2:20 remaining in the half. Anderson used an 8-0 run to close out the quarter to tie the game up at 33 apiece.
Anderson scored nine points in the opening three minutes of the third quarter to continue its run that ended at 17-0 with Coker scoring a jumper in the paint with just under six minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Cobras pulled within three points with under one minute to play, before AU's Stafford capped off an 11 point third quarter for the senior guard to push Anderson lead back to five points.
Coker took its first lead, since the 39 second mark of the second quarter (33-31), after a Cobra layup. The lead was short lived with senior Jalyn Spurlin scoring a layup from a pass from senior teammate Britney Bailey to put AU up, 59-58.
Following a layup by AU's Sheridan, Coker hit a three-point basket to tie the game at, 61-61 with 1:25 to play. Bailey made the back end of her foul shots to give the Trojans a one-point lead with roughly one minute to play.
Anderson defended well which led to a huge steal by Stafford that resulted in a layup to give the Black and Gold a three-point advantage. With fouls to give, Anderson applied heavy pressure, which resulted in a steal by Sheridan. The Cobras fouled the freshman guard with four seconds remaining, before she could finish off the layup. Sheridan stepped to the line and drained both foul shots to put the game out of reach, 66-61.
Along with Stafford's 17 points, she grabbed four rebounds and handed out two assists and was credited with three steals. Sheridan ended the evening with nine points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sophomore Diamond McDowell netted 12 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Spurlin and Bailey chipped in eight points apiece.
Coker placed three players in double-digit scoring with Valicia Demeritte hitting a team-high 16 points with Mya Wasswa and Abigail Keesling netting 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Anderson head out for a two-game road swing when it travels to South Atlantic Conference opponent Catawba on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 2 pm.
