Charleston penalized

The College of Charleston’s women’s team is being forced to give up two wins after using the wrong size basketballs in games against William & Mary and UNC-Wilmington. The Colonial Athletic Association wanted to make the Cougars forfeit the games. However, the National Collegiate Athletic Association told the conference the statistics would count, but Charleston would lose the victories for seeding purposes in the conference tournament. Charleston athletic director Matt Roberts says it was a mistake and the school agrees with losing the wins. The Cougars are now 1-8 in the CAA. They beat William & Mary, 70-60, on Jan. 6 and UNC-Wilmington, 76-37, on Jan. 8 before having to give up the victories. UNC-Wilmington coach Adell Harris told The StarNews of Wilmington that her players noticed the basketballs were too large and complained to officials, who insisted they were the right size. Women’s basketball teams use slightly smaller basketballs than men’s teams. According to NCAA rules, men’s basketballs are 1 inch bigger than women’s (circumference) — men’s are 29½ to 30 inches; women’s are 28½ to 29 inches.