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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Averett's best season in program history ended in a 74-65 loss to Ferrum College in the USA South Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday at Christopher Newport University's Freeman Center.

The third-seeded Cougars (17-9), who set team records for overall wins and conference wins in a season, hit a seven-minute scoring drought midway through the second half. During that span, second-seeded Ferrum (21-6) turned a 41-41 game into a 12-point lead with 9:36 remaining.

Foul trouble then set in for Averett. Starters Mette Scheiman and Liz Martin both fouled out with more than six minutes left in the game. The Cougars, who were whistled for 15 more fouls than Ferrum, had four players foul out.

With Scheiman and Martin, two of the team's top three scorers out of the game, the Cougars struggled to get back into the contest. Averett made small run thanks to Deandra Brown 3-pointer and a pair of Ashley Washington free throws to cut Ferrum's lead down to 54-50 with 4:14 to play before the Panthers eventually pulled out of reach in the final minutes.

Washington finished with a game-high 23 points along with eight rebounds. Scheiman added 11 points.

Ferrum shot nearly 48 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Cougars 42-25.

The Panthers emerged with the early lead, but Averett finished the first half with an 11-2 run to take a 31-29 lead into the break.

Tonya Wright led Ferrum with 21 points. Ashley Norton added 17 points and Brittney Bullock scored 15 points. Kristen Keith led the Panthers with 13 rebounds.

Averett swept the regular-season series with Ferrum, beating the Panthers twice for the first time in a decade. However, the Cougars couldn't complete the season sweep as Ferrum eliminated Averett.

Although the Cougars fell short of advancing to their first conference championship game, they had plenty to be proud of this season. The team set program records with 17 overall wins and 12 wins in USA South Conference play.

Lone senior Kristyn Wharton tied the school record held by assistant coach Taylor Poirier for career games played with 102. Poirier set the mark last season.