CHARLESTON, S.C. - Despite 29 points in the fourth quarter, the Charleston Southern women's basketball team fell short of a victory on Wednesday night, dropping their final home game of the 2022-23 season 65-55 to the UNC Asheville Bulldogs.
Prior to the game,
Tori Gittens,
Sha'Mya Leigh and
Zaire Hicks were honored for senior night. Leigh led CSU with 14 points on 5/14 shooting, while Hicks had seven points and Gittens had two points.
Madison Adamson finished the night one point away from another double-double. She had nine points and led the Bucs (5-23, 3-14 in conference) with 11 rebounds.
Jazmine Jackson and
Kennedi Jackson both had seven rebounds.
First Half
Both teams took a while to get on the scoreboard, but the drought ended when Adamson drained a three pointer with 7:06 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs (11-17, 7-10 in conference) did not score their first basket until the 5:58 mark of the opening quarter. That is when they went on a 7-0 run that ended when Leigh hit a jumper with 2:16 left to make it a 7-5 ball game, but the Bulldogs finished the quarter on a 7-2 run.
The second quarter was all Asheville, as they outscored Charleston Southern 24-12 going into halftime. They saw their lead get to as high as 20 points late in the first half, and took a 19-point lead into the locker room.
Second Half
Once again, the Bulldogs came out firing out of halftime and took a 30-point lead to end the third quarter. The Bucs were outscored 18-7 to start the second half; however they did not go away without a fight.
The Bucs played some of their best basketball of the season in the final quarter, scoring 29 points compared to just nine points for Asheville. The Bucs got it going from beyond the arc, as they were 5/9 from three-point range.
What was once a 31-point lead quickly became a 12-point game as the Bucs used a 21-4 run to get themselves back in the game. The Bucs hit four their first five three-point attempts, as
Jazmine Jackson,
Alba Garcia,
Carleigh Andrews and Leigh all got in on the action to make it a 62-50 ball game with 1:28 left in regulation.
That would not hold up though, as a pair of free throws put the nail in the coffin for the Bulldogs, who took a 10-point win.
Next Up
The final regular-season game of the 2022-23 season will be this Saturday, as the Bucs head to Clinton, S.C. to take on Presbyterian. The game starts at 2 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN3.
