CHARLESTON, S.C. - Sharita Godfrey picked an excellent night for a career performance as the junior guard scored 22 points and hit several key shots down the stretch as Charleston Southern topped Presbyterian on Tuesday night, 66-63.

Godfrey connected on a jumper at the 4:21 mark in the fourth quarter to give the Bucs' (5-3, 3-1 Big South) their first lead of the game at 58-57. Alyssia Faye followed up with a layup on the ensuing CSU possession and Godfrey drained another jumper at the 2:49 mark to give the Bucs the 62-57 lead and cap an 11-0 run late in the contest.

PC (4-4, 3-3 Big South) narrowed the margin down to 64-63 on Tionna Carter's layup with 55 seconds remaining and had a chance to retake the lead in the final 30 seconds of the contest. However, a traveling call swung possession back to the Bucs and CSU took advantage from the free throw line.

Sha'Mya Leigh was fouled on the CSU in-bounds pass with under 16 seconds to play and made the first one. On her miss on the second, Godfrey was there for the offensive rebound and kept the Bucs' possession alive. Leigh hit one of two from the line with 13 seconds remaining to put CSU ahead 66-63.

PC's final opportunity came with 1.9 seconds remaining as Jade Compton attempted a three-pointer from the top of the key, but Carmella Walker's defense prevented a clean look at the basket and the shot went wide right at the buzzer as the Bucs held on for the win.

Godfrey paced three Bucs' in double-digits in tying her career-high with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a 4-of-5 mark from the three-point line. She added five rebounds and four assists in the win. Walker added 13 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Faye chipped in 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the win.

Compton led the Blue Hose with 17 points as four PC players hit the double-digit mark in the contest. Carter (14), Tess Santos (10), and Maleia Bracone (10) were also above the 10-point mark as the season series ended tied at 1-1 between CSU and the Blue Hose.
 
First Quarter
PC jumped out to the 12-4 lead in the first quarter as the Blue Hose were hot from behind the arc early with three different players hitting three-pointers over the first four minutes. Sha'Mya Leigh ended the PC run with a three-pointer over her own at the 5:06 mark and Carmella Walker added one of her own two minutes later to cap an 8-2 CSU run and narrow the Blue Hose lead to 14-12. Sharita Godfrey connected on a late three-pointer in the final minute to cut the PC lead down to 16-15 heading into the quarter break.

Second Quarter
Jade Compton scored the first five points of the second quarter to stretch the PC lead back to six points at 21-15 with 8:11 to play in the half. Makenna Winans put the Bucs on the scoreboard with a jumper in the paint as CSU kept it within a two-possession game throughout the first five minutes of the quarter. PC's lead reached nine points at 31-22 at the 4:49 mark following a six-point swing highlighted by a Maleia Bracone three-pointer. The Bucs rallied to narrow the gap to 35-30 heading into the half as Godfrey scored three points down the stretch to send the teams into the half.

Third Quarter
Winans put the first points on the board to start the second half as the Bucs narrowed the PC lead down to three-points at the 9:47 mark. The Blue Hose continued to keep the pressure with a 6-0 run midway through the quarter to take the double-digit 47-37 lead following another Bracone three-pointer. The Bucs utilized their own six-point swing capped by a Tori Gittens' three-pointer to narrow the gap back to four at 47-43 with 2:34 to play in the quarter. PC closed out the frame with five consecutive points, including a trio of Nyah Willis free throws to hold the 52-43 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of the contest.

Fourth Quarter
All five starters played all 10 minutes in the fourth quarter for the Buccaneers with Godfrey and Walker scoring seven points apiece down the stretch. CSU shot 72.7% (8-of-11) in the fourth quarter on their way to utilizing an 11-0 run to swing an eight-point deficit to a three-point advantage at the 3:28 mark following Faye's layup. From there, Godfrey took over with a layup and a late offensive rebound to help the Bucs secure the series split with the Blue Hose.

CSU Key Players

• Sharita Godfrey – 22 points, 8-of-12 shooting, 4-of-5 3PT, 2-of-2 FT, five rebounds, four assists
• Carmella Walker – 13 points, 6-of-7 FT, five rebounds, five assists, three steals, one blocked shot
• Alyssia Faye – 12 points, 6-of-10 shooting, three rebounds, one steal
• Makenna Winans – Nine points, 3-of-7 shooting, 1-of-1 3PT, 2-of-2 FT, four rebounds, two assists
• Sha'Mya Leigh – Five points, three assists, three steals

Inside the Statistics

• Charleston Southern shot 48.9% (23-of-47) from the floor, 53.3% (8-of-15) from behind the three-point line, and 70.6% (12-of-17) from the free throw line in the win.
• Presbyterian shot 45.3% (24-of-53) from the floor, 26.1% (6-of-23) from the three-point line, and 90.0% (9-of-10) from the free throw line in the loss.
• The Bucs shot a blistering 13-of-22 (59.1%) from the floor in the second half on their way to overcoming a double-digit deficit in the contest.
• CSU scored 21 points on 17 Blue Hose turnovers.
• The Bucs utilized nine offensive rebounds on their way to scoring 10 second-chance points.
• PC again took advantage in the paint with the 34-22 scoring edge.

News & Notes

• CSU utilized its third different starting lineup of the 2020-21 season with Makenna Winans joining regulars Faye, Walker, Leigh, and Godfrey.
• Sharita Godfrey turned in the Bucs' first 20-point effort on her way to tying a career-high with 22 points in the contest. The junior equaled the mark she set back on January 11, 2020, against High Point.
• Walker posted her team-leading fifth double-digit scoring game of the season and 20th of her CSU career.
• Faye was in double-digits for the fourth time of the year.
• CSU's eight three-pointers marked the second-highest for the team in the 2020-21 season.
• The Bucs' 48.9% shooting percentage marked the third-highest total for the season, while their 23 field goals was the second-most of the year.
• CSU's 53.3% three-point mark was the highest of the year, surpassing their 50.0% (10-of-20) mark set against Davidson.
• CSU's 16 assists in the contest equaled their season-high set against Columbia International in the opener.
• The Bucs improve to 14-16 all-time in the series against Presbyterian.

Up Next
Charleston Southern remains at home as the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs come to the Buccaneer Field House on January 9. Tipoff between the Bucs and GWU is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.