CHARLESTON, S.C. - Despite a valiant effort, the Charleston Southern women's basketball team fell to the East Tennessee State Buccaneers 65-45 on Wednesday night at the Buc Dome. This was the final home non-conference game for the Bucs (2-8) for the 2022-23 season. 

Player Highlights
Zaire Hicks led Charleston Southern with 13 points, while Kajsa Ahlberg and Catherine Alben both contributed nine points off of the bench. For Ahlberg, the nine points is a season high, and her 18 minutes of play ties for a season high as well. Madison Adamson had five rebounds, which was the most on the team. 

First Quarter
ETSU came out with an aggressive defense, as CSU went the first five minutes without scoring a basket. That changed with a steal and score from  Alben to make it 6-2. CSU was strong on defense, holding ETSU to just 25% shooting in the first quarter; however, they were just 3/11 and turned it over seven times, as ETSU took an 11-6 lead.
 
Second Quarter
The second quarter started very similar to the first, as ETSU started on a 7-0 run, taking an 18-6 lead and forcing a CSU timeout. Out of the timeout, Alben forced another turnover and took it the other way for two, ending the run.

Mid-way through the quarter, CSU got hot from beyond the arc.  Alberg knocked down two-straight three pointers (three total) and Alben finished off the run with a lay-up and hit the free throw. Ahlberg led the Bucs in the first half with nine points and was 3/3 from beyond the arc. Zaire Hicks also had nine points as CSU trailed 36-29 at the half.

Third Quarter
The defense of ETSU was fierce to start the second half, holding CSU scoreless for the first 4:06 of the third quarter. That run ended when Zaire Hicks knocked down a jump shot to reduce the deficit to single digits. Both defenses clamped down, as CSU managed just six points in the third quarter, while ETSU scored nine, taking a 45-35 lead into the fourth quarter.

Fourth Quarter
Once again, ETSU came out firing in the final quarter, as they jumped out to a 49-38 lead with 7:30 left and forced a CSU timeout. The Bucs were able to cut it within 10; however, ETSU finished the game on a run and outscored CSU in the final quarter 20-10 to take the 65-45 win.

Next Timeout
Charleston Southern has one more game in the non-conference this Sunday, as they travel to Columbia, S.C. to take on the top-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. and will be streamed on the SEC Network+.
Their next home will be on December 29^th, as Gardner-Webb comes to the Buc Dome for the Big South conference opener.