CHARLESTON, S.C. – A fourth-quarter comeback fell just short on Tuesday night, as the Charleston Southern women's basketball team dropped their home opener to the Furman Paladins by a 71-68 score.
 
The Bucs (0-3) were down 70-64 with under three minutes left, when Madison Adamson led a fast-break the other way to make it a four-point game. With 18 seconds left, Catherine Alben stole the ball at midcourt and threw it to Kennedi Jackson, who laid it in the other way to make it a two-point game. After Furman knocked down a free throw, Alaina Nettles had a look from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded, but the ball rattled out, giving Furman (2-1) the victory.
 
Furman jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the first five minutes of the first quarter, forcing a Charleston Southern timeout. After that, the Bucs went on an 11-0 run to take a 17-11 lead with a three-point shot by Alben. Then, Jackson ended the opening quarter with back-to-back buckets in the paint.
 
Charleston Southern kept the momentum going in the second quarter, as they pushed their lead to 12 points with a layup by Alben on a fast break with 4:27 left in the first half. Their lead stayed in the double digits, until Furman closed the half with a three to make it 34-26 at the break.
 
The Paladins came out strong in the third quarter, as they started the second half on a 9-2 run to pull within one at the 7:13 mark. After trading buckets, the Paladins pushed the lead up to 10 points and outscored the Bucs 30-13 in the third set.
 
Both Alben and Jackson had 21 points and six rebounds to lead the Bucs on the night. Alben had four assist, and Jackson had two blocks. Adamson had eight points and four rebounds as well as two steals.
 
Each team had 37 rebounds on the night; however, the Paladins were 8/16 from beyond the arc, and 3/5 in the second half. The Bucs shot 41.5% from the field on the evening and 4/17 from beyond the three-point line.
 
Up Next
Charleston Southern will be back at The Buc Dome at 6 p.m. on Friday, as they host crosstown rival College of Charleston for Greek Life Night. The matchup will be streamed on ESPN+.