NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -  The Charleston Southern women's basketball team responded in a big way on Wednesday, taking down one of the top teams in the conference in USC Upstate on Wednesday night at The Buc Dome by a final score of 66-59.

A strong third quarter propelled the Bucs (10-17, 7-6 in conference), as they won the third quarter by a 17-6 score. Upstate (`15-12, 10-4 in conference) was ahead 34-29 heading into halftime, but the Bucs got some help from Catherine Alben, who opened the second half scoring with a three pointer. Charleston Southern took their first lead of the game with 7:50 left in the third quarter with a layup from Keshunti Nichols.
 
After Upstate took the lead back, the Bucs finished the third quarter on an 8-0 run highlighted by three pointers from Alben and Alba Garcia. Charleston Southern extended their lead to 11 points and forced the Spartans to take a timeout Madison Adamson made a layup on the fastbreak and made the free throw on the foul with 5:50 left in the game.

Back came the Spartans, as they hit a pair of three pointers and took advantage of a few Buccaneer turnovers to trim the deficit to five points at 58-53 with 2:48 left in the game, but the Bucs were very good from the free throw line, finishing the fourth quarter 9 for 13 from the charity strike. 

The Bucs were excellent in the paint on the night, as they scored 32 points on the inside compared to 18 for the Spartans. Four different Buccaneers scored in double figures, led by Kennedi Jackson, who scored 15 points on seven rebounds. Alben was right behind her with 13 points, and Adamson had 11 points while Nichols had 10. Charleston Southern overcame a first-half deficit that was as much as nine points. 

With the win, the Bucs moved into a tie with Radford for third place in the conference.  Charleston Southern holds the tiebreaker, defeating the Highlanders at home back in January. 

Up Next 
The Bucs will head back on the road for the next two games, as they head to High Point for a battle with the conference-leading Panthers on Saturday. Tip-off is at 2 PM and will be streamed on ESPN+.