CHARLESTON, S.C. - Sharita Godfrey scored 16 of her career-high 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Buccaneers mounted a furious comeback attempt against visiting High Point on Saturday afternoon. However, the Panthers sot 9-of-11 from the free throw line down the stretch to hold off Charleston Southern in the Big South matchup, 84-70.

Trailing 68-41 heading into the fourth quarter, Godfrey and Carmella Walker combined for a 12-0 run against High Point (5-10, 3-3 Big South) to cut the deficit down to 15 points at the fourth-quarter media timeout. Kelsie Ruff put in a layup following an HPU turnover on the ensuing Bucs' possession to narrow the gap down to 68-55 with 4:44 remaining.

The Panthers took over from there as Danielle Deoul ended the CSU (2-12, 0-4 Big South) stretch with a three-point play. Skyler Curran followed with a three-pointer to put the Panthers back ahead 74-55 with 3:53 remaining.

Godfrey attempted to bring the Bucs back late as the sophomore wing scored 10 points over a 1:15 span, with her final three-pointer cutting the HPU lead down to 80-70 with 33 seconds remaining. High Point took it from there hitting six of eight from the free throw line down the stretch in securing the conference win.

Godfrey's 22-point effort was the first 20-plus point game of her career as the Columbia, S.C. native was an efficient 10-of-14 from the floor. Walker was also in double-digits for CSU with 15 points, including a pair of assists and two steals. Ruff and Sha'Mya Leigh chipped in eight points apiece.

High Point's Camryn Brown led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-9 from behind the arc. She added six rebounds and six assists, as well as a pair of blocked shots. Curran added a double-double for the Panthers with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Deoul (14) and Chyna McMichel (12) added double-digit scoring efforts on Saturday.
 
Inside the Statistics

• Charleston Southern shot 44.3% (27-of-61) from the floor, 26.1% (6-of-23) from behind the three-point line, and 76.9% (10-of-13) from the free throw line in the loss.
• High Point combined to shoot 45.6% (26-of-57) from the floor, 38.5% (10-of-26) from the three-point line, and 84.6% (22-of-26) from the charity stripe in the win.
• The Panthers held the 43-23 rebounding advantage in the win, and utilized their edge to post an 18-0 mark in second-chance points.
• The Bucs outscored High Point off turnovers (19-17) and in points off the bench (15-10).
• High Point held the 28-24 edge in points in the paint and 13-3 advantage in fast-break points.
• CSU forced 20 High Point turnovers in the loss.
• Four Bucs combined for five blocked shots, paced by Asia Smith's two.

News & Notes

• Godfrey's 22-point effort was a career-high for the sophomore, eclipsing her previous mark set back on November 9, 2019 against S.C. State (15 points).
• Godfrey joins Tierra Steede as the lone Bucs to post 20-plus point scoring efforts this season with Steede scoring 24 back on December 16, 2019 against Columbia (S.C.).
• CSU forced 20-plus turnovers for the sixth time this season and first since December 20 against College of Charleston.
• Carmella Walker has converted her last 13 free throw attempts dating back to the second half against Radford as the junior guard went 3-of-3 from the line to raise her season average to 81.5% (53-of-65).

Up Next
Charleston Southern is back on the road this week as the Buccaneers make the trip to Kimmel Arena for a Tuesday night matchup at UNC Asheville. Tipoff on ESPN+ is set for 6 p.m.