CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern made a run at the beginning of the second half to cut the Winthrop lead down to two points, but the Eagles responded with a run of their own in completing the season sweep over the Buccaneers with the 59-48 victory on Thursday evening inside the Buc Dome.

Erin Bratcher and Rochelle Brophy scored 13 points apiece for the Bucs on the evening to pace the CSU offense, while DJ Fowler and Tatum Jarvis were also in double-digits for Charleston Southern. However, Erica Williams put in a dominant performance for the Eagles with 25 points and 16 rebounds as Winthrop took the victory.

"We did have a tough time scoring tonight," head coach Fred Applin had to say about the evening. "We cut Winthrop's lead to four, but weren't able to get closer than that. We missed some shots we normally hit, but that's the way it goes sometimes. We've got to fight through it. We will practice hard tomorrow and correct what needs correcting."

Charleston Southern falls to 8-13, 4-8 overall in Big South play with the loss, while Winthrop improves to 15-6, 9-2 overall with the win.

Fowler and Jarvis rounded out the group of Bucs in double-digits with 10 points apiece, while Anicia Dotson had 11 rebounds in the loss for CSU. Fowler added six assists and four steals on the night for the Buccaneers.

"Our bench played well; I threw every player in there tonight except one player I think," Applin commented following the game. "I keep telling everyone one that; "be ready, we are going to need you." We have to get back in the gym and get ready for Saturday. It is a quick turnaround. I know the girls are tired. They've played, what, six games in eight days I think. It is something we are just going to have to get used to doing."

Samiya Wright had 12 points to sit in double-digits for the Eagles on the night, while Taylor Calvert finished with 10 rebounds in the victory. McClanahan filled the statistics sheet on the night for Winthrop with eight points, eight rebounds and two assists for the Eagles.

Winthrop tallied the first five points of the second half to take its largest lead of the game at 32-22. Led by Bratcher, CSU responded with a 10-2 run to whittle its deficit to two. Following four free throws by Brophy, Anicia Dotson and Jarvis, Bratcher sailed through two straight threes from the left corner. The second closed the gap to 34-32 with 14:30 left, as Bratcher hit nothing but net after Fowler found her on a baseline drive.

The Eagles responded with the next six points to stretch the lead back out to 40-32 following back-to-back layups by Charles and Taylor Calvert, before Samiya Wright connected on a pair of free throw attempts at the 12:26 mark. The lead reached nine at 45-36 on a short jumper by McClanahan three minutes later, but CSU continued to build momentum in one final run.

The Buccaneers scored five of the next seven points as Brophy took over down low with a short jumper in the paint. Following a three-pointer by Jarvis, Brophy connected on a pair of free throws to put the score at 47-43 with 6:36 remaining. The Buccaneers kept the margin within four on two more occasions as Fowler answered a short Winthrop burst with a three-pointer from the top of the key to put the score at 50-46, and Jarvis answered a pair of Williams free throws with two of her own to pull the Bucs within 52-48 with 5:09 remaining.

The CSU offense went cold at the end of the game as the Buccaneers failed to score the remainder of the contest and Winthrop went 7-for-8 from the free throw line with Williams, McClanahan and Wright all converted shots from the charity stripe as the Eagles completed the season sweep over the Buccaneers with the 59-48 victory.

Winthrop jumped out to a 12-5 lead over CSU behind nine points from freshman forward Erica Williams. The Eagles held the Bucs to a 2-of-9 start from the field defensively, as CSU did not put its first points on the scoreboard until Rochelle Brophy banked in a shot at the 15:33 mark.

Williams hit an array of shots from the low post, the last of which accounted for a three-point play and a 12-5 Winthrop lead. CSU snapped out of its early shooting funk, though, connecting on three straight three-pointers to take a 14-12 advantage. DJ Fowler hit the first trey, and freshman Tatum Jarvis added one shortly after off a pretty pass from Brophy. Erin Bratcher finished off the quick spurt with a triple from the left corner to give the Bucs their first lead of the night.

Winthrop retook the lead with three straight points, only to Fowler give CSU the edge back with a steal and layup. Brophy pushed the CSU lead to three with a layup off a high-low feed from Fowler, but Winthrop responded with the next five points and led for the remainder of the stanza. CSU's final four points of the half came at the free throw line, while a Dequesha McClanahan pull-up jumper highlighted Winthrop's scoring. The Eagles entered halftime with a 27-22 advantage following a Ronata Rogers put back.

CSU remains at home on Saturday afternoon as the Bucs host Radford. Tipoff at the Buc Dome is scheduled for 2 p.m. The Bucs opened Big South play with a 84-64 win over the Highlanders on December 28.