CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern is back on the courts this week looking forward to the rematch against Campbell University as the Buccaneers welcome the Fighting Camels to the Buccaneer Field House on Tuesday, February 25. Tipoff between CSU and Campbell is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
The Bucs (4-21, 2-14 Big South) are riding high coming into Tuesday's matchup against the Big South leading Camels. Not only is CSU coming off a season-sweep over the Bulldogs – the Bucs are also coming off a week-long break as the Buccaneers had the weekend off due to conference scheduling.
 
CSU is hoping the extra rest period pays off and that they have retained their momentum over the week as the Bucs look to build off one of their best outings of the 2019-20 season.
 
Charleston Southern went on a crucial 11-2 run over a five-minute span in the second half as the Buccaneers completed the season sweep over UNC Asheville, 56-54.
 
Tyra Wright started the Bucs run with a three-pointer from the top of the key with 8:16 remaining in the game to cut the UNC Asheville lead down to 47-41. Ahlea Myers and Carmella Walker combined to hit three of four from the free throw line over the next two minutes to narrow the gap down to 47-44 with 6:13 to play.
 
Sonora Dengokl ended the six-point CSU swing as the Asheville (14-11, 8-8 Big South) senior hit nothing but net on a mid-range jumper at the 5:49 mark to put the Bulldogs back up five. CSU took control over the next two possessions with Myers and Wright both converting inside the paint to make it a one-point game with 4:50 to play.
 
Walker and Myers once again connected from the free throw line to put CSU back in the lead with 2:30 remaining as the Bucs hit three-of-four to go up 53-49. The Bucs' lead hit five points on Walker's free throw at the 53 second mark as the Bucs went up 56-51 with under a minute to play.
 
Zip Scott connected on a late three-pointer for the Bulldogs and UNC Asheville had a chance to tie the game up late, but Brooke Jordan-Brown's jumper at the buzzer fell off the rim as the Bucs secured the conference win.
 
The win over the Bulldogs was CSU's second victory over UNC Asheville in the 2019-20 season. CSU previously topped the Bulldogs, 60-48, back on January 14 behind a strong defensive effort that limited Asheville to just 20.0% shooting from the floor in the game.
 
The CSU defense will need to be back up to the task again on Tuesday as points are expected to be scarce against one of the top NCAA scoring defenses in the country. Campbell enters the contest allowing just 52.3 points per game, good for fifth overall in the NCAA Division I standings to date on the year. The Camels are also 24th in the country in field goal defense allowing opponents to shoot just 35.8% from the floor this season.
 
Campbell (19-6, 14-2 Big South) has only allowed conference opponents to score 60 or more points just four times this season. In the first matchup, that defensive prowess was on display as the Camels took the 61-36 win over the Bucs on January 21 inside Gore Arena.
 
The Bucs were limited to just 30.8% shooting from the floor with Carmella Walker pacing the team with 12 points and six rebounds in the loss. Tierra Steede added 10 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots, while Sharita Godfrey added eight points in the stat line.
 
The Camels were hot from outside the arc in the first matchup with Luana Serranho connected on five of Campbell's 11 three-pointers in the game to lead all scorers with 19 points. Hayley Barber added 12 points, while Taya Bolden chipped in eight points and 11 boards in the win.
 
Campbell enters Tuesday's matchup coming off a trio of close games with just a two-point margin covering the spread of their last three contests. Radford topped Campbell (48-42) to open the stretch, before the Camels bounced back with a 61-58 win over Winthrop. This past Saturday, Campbell held off a surging Longwood team inside Gore Arena with an 81-76 victory.
 
Taya Bolden recorded her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Kianna Speight added 17 to lift Campbell past Longwood. The win for the Camels gave the Camels their 14th league win of the season to mark the most Big South wins in a season in program history. The mark sits two wins shy of the overall league win record which was set in 2001 when the Camels went 16-2 as a member of the Trans America Athletic Conference.
 
The Bucs will be turning to their senior leadership once again as CSU is counting down the days until Senior Day on March 7. CSU has only two more game scheduled to be inside the Buc Dome this season, including Tuesday's contest. The Bucs close out the regular season on Saturday, March 7, with a 3 p.m. tipoff against Longwood.
 
Senior forward Tierra Steede is coming off her ninth double-digit scoring effort of the season as the Marietta, Ga. native leads the Bucs with 10.2 points per game. She is also CSU's leading rebounder with 6.9 boards per game.
 
Sophomore Ahlea Myers and freshman Tyra Wright have been coming on in recent games for the Bucs and have provided a potent inside-outside game off the bench. Myers has scored 12 points in each of the last two contests to lead CSU's scoring efforts, while Wright has averaged 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds over the last three games.
 
Walker also provides a steady force for the Bucs on the court as the junior guard is coming off a nine-point, eight-rebound game, that included five steals over the fourth quarter. She paces the Bucs in thefts on the year with 54.
 
Campbell's balanced attack this season features five players averaging at least eight points per game with Hayley Barber (9.4), Luana Serranho (9.2), and Shy Tuelle (9.2) all sitting among the team's leaders.
 
Kianna Speight is the team's three-point threat with 53 of the Camels' 187 made three-pointers on the year, while Taya Bolden boasts a 7.5 rebound per game average on the season.
 
Up Next
Charleston Southern begins their final road trip of the season this weekend as the Buccaneers head to Hampton University on Saturday, February 29th. Tipoff between the Bucs and the Pirates is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.