CHARLESTON, S.C. – Tori Gittens scored a career-high 18 points Tuesday evening for Charleston Southern, but a balanced George Mason attack was able to defeat the Bucs, 64-55, in CSU's home opener.
Sharita Godfrey and
Sha'Mya Leigh added 10 points each for the Bucs, who outscored George Mason by a 19-7 margin in the fourth quarter.
Skylar Baltezegar grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while
Madison Adamson had seven boards, five assists and four steals.
Godfrey opened the scoring for the Bucs with a pair of early 3-pointers, as the Bucs had a slim one-point lead at the first quarter media timeout. A late George Mason run gave the Patriots a six-point lead after one quarter.
Following a Gittens 3-pointer in the early stages of the second quarter, the visitors used a 9-0 run to extend their lead to double-digits. Gittens converted on a three-point play in the late stages of the half, but George Mason outscored CSU 16-8 and took a 36-22 lead into the break.
CSU came out of the locker room firing on cylinders, cutting the George Mason lead down to eight with layups on three consecutive possessions. Baltezegar had two of the three layups during the Buccaneer scoring run. After Gittens went on her own five-point scoring run, George Mason closed the third quarter on a 16-3 run and led by 21, 57-36, heading into the final quarter.
The Bucs and Patriots exchanged early baskets in the fourth quarter before CSU's defense came to life, holding George Mason scoreless for the final 5:07. Charleston Southern went on a 13-0 run to close the game, with four different Buccaneers scoring during the run. The Bucs had a chance to make things even closer, but three consecutive missed shots to end the game allowed George Mason to hold on for the win.
Up Next
Charleston Southern begins a two-game road trip Saturday afternoon at Western Carolina, with tipoff set for 4 p.m.
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