HIGH POINT, N.C. - Despite having a lead as high as 19 points in the first half, the Charleston Southern women's basketball team lost a close one to the High Point Panthers on Wednesday night, falling 60-57. The Bucs (2-14, 0-5 in conference) were outscored 23-9 in the fourth quarter and 40-20 overall in the second half. 

Kennedi Jackson led the Bucs with 15 point and seven rebounds in 22 minutes. Zaire Hicks led the Bucs in rebounding with eight while also stealing the ball four times. Sha'Mya Leigh played in all 40 minutes, scoring 11 points. Once again, the Bucs were able to cut down on their turnovers, only giving the ball away 16 times while forcing 18 turnovers. This was the second game in a row that they were in the plus column in turnovers.

First Half
It was all Bucs early, as they jumped out to a quick 13-3 lead mid-way through the first quarter. Kennedi Jackson and Leigh both hit three-pointers during that stretch. The lead got up to 16 points, as the Bucs went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter, taking a 26-10 lead into quarter number two. 

The Bucs carried their momentum in the second quarter, pushing their lead up to 19 points with 6:05 left in the half thanks to a basket by Madison Adamson in the paint. She went on to hit the free throw, giving the Bucs their 19-point lead. It was a back-and-forth battle for the rest of the quarter, but the Bucs were able to take a 17-point lead thanks to a jumper at the buzzer by Hicks. 

Second Half
Things started to unravel in the third quarter, as the Panthers started the second half on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to eight points. The run ended with a three-pointer by Kajsa Ahlberg to make it 40-29 with 6:51 left in the third quarter. The Bucs were able to go on a little run of their own, taking an 11-point lead into the final quarter. 

The Bucs' lead was as high as 13 in the fourth quarter before High Point began their comeback. After Kennedi Jackson made a lay-up with 8:59 left, the Panthers went on a 20-3 run to take their first lead of the game at 57-53 with 47 seconds left. With 11 seconds left, the Bucs cut it the Panther lead to two when Hicks hit a jumper, but the Panthers hit a free throw, and the Bucs missed a shot as time expired to fall to 0-5 in the conference. 

Next Game
The Bucs look to get their first conference win this Saturday, when Radford comes to the Buc Dome for a 2 p.m. battle. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.