FARMVILLE, VA – Charleston Southern had its best shooting performance of the season as the Bucs defeated Longwood, 78-61, on Saturday at Willett Hall.

Njeri Nelms led five Bucs in double-figures with 18 points as CSU shot a season-high 57.4% (31-of-54) from the field. Rachel Burns (14 points), Shelby Wilbanks (12 points), Weknyne Dumorne (11 points) and Shauntavia Dobson (10 points) all scored in double-digits for the Bucs.

CSU improves to 9-12, 4-6 following its second straight Big South road win, while Longwood falls to 3-18, 1-9 with the loss.

CSU bounced back from an early 6-0 deficit to take a 10-6 lead on a Dumorne layup with 4:41 left in the first quarter. Dobson's three-pointer put CSU ahead 13-11 and Lexii Cassell made a layup with 14 seconds to go as the Bucs led 15-11 at the end of the first frame.

Charleston Southern's lead grew to 23-16 when Nelms knocked down a jumper with 5:02 remaining in the second period. Autumn Childress' layup trimmed the margin to 25-20. A Nelms layup with two seconds to play capped a 9-4 CSU run as the Bucs led 32-24 at halftime.

Both teams struggled shooting to open the second half as Longwood didn't record a field goal until Kate Spradlin's three-pointer cut CSU's lead to 35-28 with 5:25 to play in the period. The Bucs caught fire as Burns' trifecta closed a 10-0 run to put CSU ahead 45-28. Childress' layup with three seconds to go narrowed the margin to 51-36 at the end of the third stanza.

The Lancers came as close as nine in the final period when a Childress layup trimmed the lead to 60-51 with 5:59 remaining in the contest. CSU responded with a quick 10-1 run as the Bucs pulled away and used stellar shooting to secure the win.

Inside the Numbers

• Weknyne Dumorne recorded the third double-double of her CSU career with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
• Shelby Wilbanks scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field as she notched her fourth straight game with double-digit scoring.
• Shauntavia Dobson moves into seventh place all-time at CSU with 115 three-pointers made.
• CSU's Big South leading three-point field goal percentage defense limited Longwood to only 23.5% (4-of-17) from behind the arc.
• Tierra Steede's three blocks paced the Bucs to a 5-0 advantage in team blocks.

News and Notes

• Charleston Southern recorded its first back-to-back wins in Big South play this season.
• CSU improves to 3-7 away from the Buc Dome.
• The Bucs have won seven straight contests over the Lancers to even the all-time series, 8-8.

Up Next
CSU returns to action when it hosts Campbell on Tuesday at 7 p.m.