CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern was unable to keep up their third-quarter momentum on Saturday afternoon in the Buccaneer Field House as CSU fell to visiting Winthrop, 58-53.

Sharita Godfrey scored 14 of her team-leading 16 points in the third quarter as the Buccaneers (3-15, 1-8 Big South) fought their way back into the back-and-forth contest. The Bucs cut the margin down to three-points at the third quarter break, before Kelsie Ruff drained a three-pointer on CSU's opening possession to tie the game up at 41-41.

Godfrey and Ahlea Myers followed up with back-to-back jumpers to keep the Bucs in the lead with 7:49 remaining as the Bucs clung to the narrow two-point margin early in the frame. Winthrop (9-9, 6-3 Big South) rallied back with a four-point swing by Anika Riley to retake the lead with 6:48 remaining in the contest.

Destinee Jamison-Whitfield followed up two possessions later with a driving layup to extend the Winthrop lead to 49-46 just prior to the media timeout. The Bucs had two chances to retake the lead the rest of the way as Myers drilled a three-pointer (3:09 remaining) and Carmella Walker converted a layup (1:58 remaining) to cut the deficit down to one point.

Winthrop went 4-of-6 from the free throw line the rest of the way with a late basket by Myers providing the final margin in the CSU loss.

Godfrey posted her first double-double of season as the sophomore forward added a career-high 11 rebounds to go with her 16 points. She was 5-of-5 from the field in the third quarter and 3-of-3 from the three-point line during the stretch.

Tierra Steede added nine points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots, while Ruff and Myers both posted seven points apiece.

Jah'Che Whitfield posted 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Eagles to pace four Winthrop players scoring double-digits in the win. Maleeah Langstaff (10), Riley (10), and Jamison-Whitfield (10) were also in double-digits for the Eagles.
 
First Quarter: Winthrop 14, Charleston Southern 8
Kelsie Ruff put the Bucs on the board on the opening possession and Steede made one of two free throw attempts to give CSU the early lead against the Eagles. Winthrop posted a 10-2 run to go up by seven at the 6:03 mark in the quarter and a late jumper by Riley gave Winthrop the 14-8 lead heading into the second quarter.

Second Quarter: Winthrop 26, Charleston Southern 19
Winthrop took a double-digit lead early in the second quarter as the Eagles went up 18-8 following a Whitfield fast-break layup. The Eagles' lead reached 13 at 26-13 with 5:26 remaining in the quarter following a Sierra Hunter layup. Steede and Walker put together a pair of layups to bring the game back within single digits, before Ruff made a late layup to set the margin at seven points at the break.

Third Quarter: Winthrop 41, Charleston Southern 38
Miquela Santoro stretched the Winthrop lead back to 10 points with a three-pointer on the Eagles' opening possession, before Sha'Mya Leigh and Godfrey strung together eight consecutive points to cut the lead back to one possession. Godfrey connected on her first two three-pointers in the quarter and strung together 12 consecutive points at one stretch to cut the Winthrop lead down to 35-33 with 4:44 remaining. The Bucs retook the lead on Walker's jumper at the 3:06 mark, but Winthrop scored the final four points down the stretch to hold the 41-38 margin at the break.

Fourth Quarter: Winthrop 58, Charleston Southern 53
Ruff tied the game up at 41-41 following her three-pointer on CSU's opening possession and the Bucs retained the lead through the 7:14 mark before Riley tied the game up with a layup. Riley followed up with a pair of free throws to swing the advantage back to the Eagles, before Jamison-Whitfield's layup stretched the lead out to three. The Bucs cut the deficit down to one point on two separate occasions the rest of the way, but we unable to retake the lead the rest of the way in the conference loss.

Inside the Statistics

• Charleston Southern was 21-of-51 (41.2%) from the floor, 5-of-15 (33.3%) from behind the three-point line, and 6-of-11 (54.5%) from the free throw line in the loss.
• Winthrop was 19-of-59 (32.2%) from the floor, 3-of-17 (17.6%) from the three-point line, and 17-of-24 (70.8%) from the free throw line in the win.
• CSU held the 15-12 advantage on points off turnovers.
• Winthrop outscored the Bucs 24-22 in points in the paint, 18-3 in second-chance points, and 11-4 in fast-break points.
• The Eagles also held the 18-12 advantage in bench points.
• Winthrop held the 49-28 rebounding edge.

News & Notes

• Godfrey posted CSU's fifth double-double of the season, joining Steede (2), Asia Smith (1), and Walker (1) to have hit the mark in points and rebounds this season.
• Steede's double-digit rebounding streak came to an end on Saturday as the senior was limited to just seven boards in the contest. She has posted 32 rebounds (8.0 per game) over the last four contests.
• Godfrey's 16-point performance was her 10th double-digit scoring effort of the season.
• CSU falls to 34-46 all-time in the series against the Eagles.

Up Next
Charleston Southern wraps up its first swing through Big South play on Tuesday night as the Buccaneers welcome Presbyterian to the Buccaneer Field House. Tipoff on ESPN+ is set for 7 p.m.