CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern is back on the road this weekend as the Buccaneers make the trek to Clinton, S.C. and Presbyterian College for a Saturday afternoon game held inside the Templeton Center. Tipoff between CSU and PC is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN3.
CSU (3-20, 1-13 Big South) was unable to keep pace with the Blue Hose in the first matchup between the two teams back on January 28 inside the Buccaneer Field House. Presbyterian utilized a double-digit point swing early in the second quarter to top the host Bucs, 67-46.
The Bucs traded baskets with the Blue Hose early as the teams swapped the lead five times over the first 10 minutes of play. However, PC opened the second quarter with a 14-0 run to cap a larger 21-2 stretch as the Blue Hose pulled away from the Bucs at the half.
CSU attempted to fight their way back into the contest behind
Tierra Steede's third double-double of the season as the senior forward posted 12 points and 11 rebounds over 24 minutes of action. The Bucs were unable to cut the final margin back within 20 the rest of the way in falling in the first matchup against the Blue Hose.
Since then, CSU has struggled in conference play as the Bucs enter the Saturday afternoon game on an eight-game losing streak. The Bucs have fallen in each of their last four games since the first matchup against the Blue Hose as CSU fell at Gardner-Webb (67-45), at Winthrop (56-46), and at home against Radford (64-40) and USC Upstate (71-64).
In their matchup against the Spartans this past Tuesday, USC Upstate took advantage of a huge third quarter swing as the Bucs fell inside the Buccaneer Field House, 71-64.
The Spartans outscored the Bucs 24-10 over the 10-minute period to take advantage of the game early in the second half. USC Upstate went on a 15-0 run over a four-minute stretch to take a double-digit lead with 2:20 remaining in the quarter following back-to-back layups by Riley Popplewell and Anda Kuzmina to put the Spartans ahead 46-35.
The Bucs cut the lead down to one possession on several occasions in the fourth quarter with
Kelsie Ruff's three-pointer narrowing the gap down to two points at 59-57 with 3:27 remaining. Brianna Lewis and Michaela Gibbons answered with back-to-back shots in the paint to stretch the Upstate lead back out to six points with 1:22 remaining.
The Spartans secured the win from the free throw line with Upstate going 8-of-12 from the charity stripe down the stretch.
Ahlea Myers put in the final basket of the game with a layup just in front of the buzzer to provide the final 71-64 margin.
PC (8-15, 4-10 Big South) are coming off their own loss on Tuesday night as the Blue Hose fell at home to UNC Asheville, 64-48. Asheville's Sonora Dengokl scored 19 points to pace four Bulldogs who finished in double-digits in the contest to top PC.
Highlights from Presbyterian in the contest came from Trinity Johnson and Jade Compton. Johnson's 15-point game was her 20th double-digit scoring effort of the season and ninth in a row to pace the Blue Hose. Compton's 13 points and team-high seven rebounds also put her among the PC leaders in the contest.
The two teams are still jockeying for position in the Big South standings as both teams still have six games to play in the regular season. The Bucs currently sit two games back of USC Upstate for 10th in the conference standings, while PC is two games behind Longwood for eighth in the Big South.
Tierra Steede continues to pace CSU's scoring efforts with 10.4 points and adds 7.1 rebounds per game on the season. The senior forward posted her fourth double-double of the season against the Spartans and added her fifth double-digit rebounding game of the year with 10 points and 10 boards against USC Upstate.
Tyra Wright continues to impress down low as well as the freshman center has added a potent 1-2 punch to the Bucs in the post. Wright has averaged 8.0 points and just under five rebounds per game over the last four games, including her first collegiate double-double with 12 points and 10 boards against the Spartans.
Sharita Godfrey is also among the team leaders with 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game on the year, while
Carmella Walker chips in 9.8 points and 4.6 boards per contest.
Sha'Mya Leigh adds 50 assists and 25 steals while starting 19 games this season.
Trinity Johnson paces the Blue Hose with 14.8 points per game. The sophomore guard also paces the Blue Hose with 69 assists and 64 steals on the year and is shooting 38.6% from the three-point line in the 2019-20 season.
Jade Compton is second on the team with 8.8 points, while pacing the Blue Hose with 6.0 rebounds per game. Tionna Carter is the team's primary defensive presence in the paint with 17 blocked shots. Kacie Hall is the team's outside threat with 31 three-pointers.
Up Next
Charleston Southern is back at home on Tuesday, February 18, for a midweek contest with a home game against UNC Asheville inside the Buccaneer Field House. Tipoff between the Bucs and the Bulldogs is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
