The energy in the Howard Coffin Gymnasium was palpable on Saturday as the Coastal Georgia women’s basketball team rolled to their third straight victory.
The Mariners (4-15, 2-7) downed the Ft. Lauderdale Eagles (2-10) by a score of 82-58 with seniors Joyce Jordan and Sonia Forney leading the way with 37 combined points.
Freshman guard Gabby Litvak also provided 14 of her own from the bench during a contest that saw the Coastal Georgia women lead by as much as 30 points early in the fourth quarter.
But the Mariners first seized full control through a strong defensive effort in the third quarter that saw the team hold the Eagles to just eight points on 3-of-15 shooting in the period, reversing a season-long trend of third-quarter woes.
“We’ve been putting in the work,” said Coastal women’s head coach Denise Hannah. “Obviously our record hasn’t shown it, but now they’re starting to understand it, where we need to be.”
Coastal Georgia shot a blistering 14-of-30 (46%) from behind the arc and recorded 18 assists on 28 made baskets.
“There’s nothing but up for us,” Hannah said. “We’ve been at our lowest point — 1-15. You can’t get any lower than that”.
Looking ahead to their next game against Ave Maria on Thursday night, Hannah is confident that the team can notch their fourth consecutive victory.
“We lost in their gym by three after leading most of the game,” Hannah said. “We know we can beat them.”
Hannah also mentioned just how important home-court advantage is for the Coastal Georgia women.
“Any time we can get that fan support, it just makes us that much better,” Hannah said.
The Coastal Georgia men looked to rebound following a tough loss to Keiser on Thursday, but fell short once again in a 74-69 overtime loss against Fort Lauderdale.
The Mariners (3-14, 1-8) hosted the Eagles (10-12) on Saturday looking to notch their second win in three games, and despite by leading by double digits multiple times, they couldn’t put the finishing touches on a competitive game that featured eight lead changes and 13 ties.
“It’s hard,” said Coastal men’s coach Jesse Watkins. “It’s been a tough season for our guys.”
Both teams were tied at 60-60 as the buzzer sounded at the end of regulation, and they continued to go shot for shot to start overtime, until Fort Lauderdale finally created a bit of separation.
However, Watkins saw a light from his guys. He saw “a team that wants to win” emerge from the locker room.
Looking ahead, Watkins and his team take on Ave Maria on Thursday night with a sense of optimism. Coastal Georgia was close to pulling off the road win in the first meeting between the programs this season.
Watkins knows the support from the fans at Howard Coffin Gymnasium will give the team a shot in the arm.
