Coastal Carolina leads BSC Champ.

NINETY SIX, S.C. – Coastal Carolina shot an opening round 301 to take an 11-stroke lead on defending champion Charleston Southern in the 2011 Big South Women’s Golf Championship at The Patriot Golf Club at Grand Harbor (par 72, 6,025 yards). The Lady Buccaneers are second at 312, while Gardner-Webb is third at 316.

CCU

Henderson

All nine participating teams dealt with temperatures in the mid-80s and moderate windy conditions throughout the day, resulting in no scores under par. Coastal Carolina’s Brittany Henderson holds the individual lead after 18 holes with a 2-over 74. Five players are tied for second-place, including two of Henderson’s teammates – Jessica Alexander and Kaitlin Higginbotham. Alexander closed out her day with an eagle on the par 5, 481-yard No. 18 hole, while Higginbotham birdied No. 18 after finishing even-par on the front nine.

Also tied for second are Bucknell’s Lauren Bernard and Charleston Southern’s Torey Johnson. Bernard was Bucknell’s lone scorer in the 70s, while Johnson led the field through 14 holes at 1-under before finishing her round at 3-over. Johnson was actually 4-under through the first five holes after four consecutive birdies on holes 2-5. High Point’s Jessica Neese also carded a 75 on Monday, and ended her round 1-under on the back nine.

Four teams are tied for fourth-place at 321 – Radford, associate women’s golf member Bucknell, High Point and host Winthrop. Associate women’s golf member Holy Cross is officially eighth at 354, while Presbyterian College owns a first round score of 348. The Blue Hose’s results do not officially count in the individual or team standings due to its transition to Division I.