ROCK HILL, S.C. - It was a tale of two halves for Charleston Southern on Tuesday night inside the Winthrop Coliseum as the Buccaneers were unable to hold off a Winthrop second-half rally in falling to the host Eagles, 56-46.

CSU (3-18, 1-11 Big South) shot 42.9% (15-of-35) from the floor in the first half on their way to mounting a double-digit lead at the break. The Buccaneers relied heavily on their freshman in the early stages of the game with the first-year players scoring CSU's first 12 points of the game on their way to leading 17-9 after the first quarter.

The Eagles (10-11, 7-5 Big South) rallied back in the second half with a stifling defensive presence as Winthrop held the Bucs to just 12.1% shooting from the floor over the final 20 minutes in the comeback. Winthrop scored 14 of the final 17 points of the game on their way to taking the Big South win.

Kelsie Ruff paced the Bucs with 10 points and nine rebounds in the contest, while adding two assists. Sha'Mya Leigh added eight points off the bench, while Sharita Godfrey chipped in seven points and eight boards in the loss.

Jah'Che Whitfield led three Winthrop players in double-digits with 17 points. Kem Nwabudu added 16 points and nine rebounds, while Maleeah Langstaff posted 13 points and two assists. Anika Riley contributed eight points and 10 rebounds for Winthrop as the Eagles completed the season sweep over the Bucs.

First Quarter: Charleston Southern 17, Winthrop 9
Tori Gittens connected on a pair of early three-pointers as the Buccaneers built the early 6-2 lead at the 7:31 mark of the first quarter. Maya Richards and Sha'Mya Leigh followed up with six points for the Bucs as freshmen staked CSU to a 12-7 lead with 2:06 remaining in the opening frame. Kelsie Ruff (layup) and Sharita Godfrey (three-pointer) closed out the quarter on a 5-2 run as CSU held the eight-point edge at the end of the first 10 minutes.

Second Quarter: Charleston Southern 35, Winthrop 22
CSU continued their run at the start of the second quarter as Tyra Wright and Carmella Walker scored back-to-back baskets in the paint to build the 21-9 advantage with 9:14 remaining in the half. The CSU lead reached 15 following Tierra Steede's three-pointer at the 6:46 mark put the Bucs ahead 29-14. The Bucs continued to press their lead as back-to-back jumpers by Walker and Godfrey kept the Bucs ahead by 15 with 1:24 remaining in the half. Miquela Santoro's jumper at the 50 second mark was the final basket by either team heading into the break.

Third Quarter: Charleston Southern 41, Winthrop 40
Winthrop steadily chipped away at the CSU lead throughout the third quarter as the Eagles cut the Bucs' lead down to 39-36 with 3:41 remaining in the frame. Winthrop shot 50.0% from the floor in the third quarter with Maleeah Langstaff putting in the final basket of the quarter on a fastbreak jumper at the 1:05 mark to narrow the CSU lead down to one.

Fourth Quarter: Winthrop 56, Charleston Southern 46
Winthrop took the lead on a pair of Jah'Che Whitfield free throws at the 7:05 mark as the Eagles went ahead 42-41. After CSU's Godfrey and Winthrop's Kem Nwabudu traded baskets, the Eagles went on a scored five consecutive points to build the 49-43 lead with 3:45 remaining. Ruff hit the Bucs' final three-pointer of the night at the 2:30 mark, but that was all for the Bucs offense on the night as Winthrop scored the final seven points to close out the game.

Inside the Statistics

• Charleston Southern was 27.9% (19-of-68) from the floor, 20.7% (6-of-29) from behind the three-point line, and 100.0% (2-of-2) from the free throw line in the loss.
• Winthrop was 40.4% (23-of-57) from the floor, 16.7% (2-of-12) from behind the arc, and 80.0% (8-of-10) from the charity stripe in the win.
• Winthrop held the 26-20 edge in points in the paint.
• CSU held the 14-7 advantage in points off turnovers, as well as the 14-0 edge in bench scoring.
• Winthrop held the 6-4 edge in second-chance points.
• Both teams tied in fast-break points at 6-6.
• Winthrop held the 44-40 rebounding edge.

News & Notes

• Kelsie Ruff was back in double-digits for the fifth time this season as the junior guard led the Bucs with 10 points.
• Ruff narrowly missed out on her first collegiate double-double with a career-high nine rebounds.
• All eight Buccaneers who saw the court on Tuesday night were in the scoring column.
• CSU recorded double-digit steals for the seventh time in the 2019-20 season and first since December 20, 2019 against College of Charleston.
• CSU shot a season-low two free throws in the loss.
• CSU falls to 34-47 all-time against the Eagles with the loss.

Up Next
Charleston Southern welcomes Radford to the Buc Dome on Saturday, February 8, as a part of a triple-header of events on the CSU campus this weekend. The Bucs tipoff with the Highlanders at 3 p.m. with the game scheduled to be carried live on ESPN3.