Box Score CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte women's basketball team rallied from a halftime deficit once again and forced overtime, but fell short in a 70-63 loss to Coker College on Wednesday night inside the Levine Center.
Three Royals scored in double figures, highlighted by 22 points from junior
Lade Adepoju. Senior
Mendy McNeese followed with 18 points, while freshman
Herning Wang chipped in 12 points of her own. Each player record six rebounds for Queens in the contest.
Queens (4-16, 1-13 SAC) made only 32.3 percent of its shots in the game, but made 21-of-31 free throw attempts and forced 18 turnovers to stay in the game. Coker (7-12, 4-9 SAC) shot 44.4 percent as a team and held a 43-34 advantage in total rebounds as forward Janea Williams led all players with 30 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks.
After one quarter, Coker held a four-point advantage thanks in large part to a 77.8 percent shooting mark in the game's opening 10 minutes. However, Queens responded with a 14-2 run across the first five minutes of the second quarter to take a 24-16 lead.
The Cobras fought back to score 12 of the game's next 15 points, taking a 28-27 lead into intermission despite the Queens defense forcing 13 turnovers in the half. The Royals were able to score 14 points off of the Coker miscues to keep the score close after two quarters of play.
Both sides went cold to begin the second half as Queens outscored Coker 11-8 in the third period to take a two-point lead in to the final quarter. The Cobras opened the fourth quarter on an 8-1 run to claim a five-point advantage, building a lead as large as six points with 5:41 remaining.
However, Queens closed the gap over the final five minutes of regulation as a layup from Adepoju tied the score at 57-all with 33 seconds to play. Coker missed a three-point attempt and a layup at the buzzer, leading to an overtime period.
The extra time was controlled by Coker from start to finish as the Cobras made 3-of-4 attempts from the field and 7-of-8 shot from the charity stripe in outscoring Queens 13-6 in the final five minutes of play.
Queens has the weekend off in order to prepare for a short road trip next Wednesday as the Royals face nationally ranked Wingate University on Wednesday, February 7, in Wingate, N.C. at 6 p.m.
