The College of Charleston women’s basketball team is one win away from making program history.
Taryn Barbot scored a game-high 24 points and sister Taylor Barbot had a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists as College of Charleston swamped Stony Brook 79-49 in the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament semifinals at CareFirst Arena on March 14.
One more victory and the Cougars will do something they’ve never done in program history — make the 68-team field for the NCAA Tournament. The women’s basketball team is the only program at College of Charleston that has never participated in an NCAA Tournament or similar postseason.
The Cougars (26-5) scored just 14 seconds into the first quarter on Sophia Tougas’ 3-pointer and never relinquished the lead.
Taryn Barbot, the reigning CAA Player of the Year, did more than just score for the Cougars. The 5-10 junior finished with seven rebounds, five assists and six steals to go along with her 9 of 19 shooting from the field.
“Taryn had a great game,” said College of Charleston coach Robin Harmony. “She just shows every time she steps on the court why she was the player of year in our conference.”
Barbot said it was the Cougars defense that led to offense against Stony Brook, which finished its season 18-15.
“I think our whole team gets our energy from our defense,” she said. “Getting steals, getting stops, rebounding the ball, pushing the ball gets our offense going.”
Tougas had 13 points, while Jami Hill added 10 points for the Cougars.
Notable
• In the first two games of the CAA Tournament, the Cougars have forced 38 turnovers while committing just 19.
CofC has also recorded 25 steals in the first two games, which has led to 42 points.
• The Cougars have made 19 3-pointers during the tournament. Charleston is a combined 19 of 48 (39.5 percent) from beyond the arc. Sophia Tougas has led way, knocking down 9 of 20 3s.
• Charleston has done the job on the defensive glass during the tournament, limiting both William & Mary and Stony Brook’s second-chance points. The Tribe and Seawolves combined for just 14 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points.
• Charleston has earned back-to-back 25-win seasons for the first time since they did it in three straight years (1979-80 to 1981-82), and this is the first time the Cougars have accomplished the feat in their Division I era.
Quotable
“That was a 40-minute effort when we played our best basketball. It was a team effort. We stuck to our plan. We were just relentless, and that’s what we are going to need in the championship game (Sunday) to come with a win. I’m really proud of this team. They worked hard. They stuck with it, and now we’re one win away from going to the NCAA Tournament.” — College of Charleston coach Robin Harmony.
Next game
College of Charleston will face the winner of the Drexel-Hofstra matchup in the CAA Tournament’s championship game on March 15 at 2 p.m. The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
The Cougars defeated Drexel (74-64) on Jan. 16 and beat Hofstra (72-55) on Jan. 2 at TD Arena during the regular season.
