LYNCHBURG, Va. - Battling back from early struggles, the Charleston Southern women's basketball team pushed the Big South's top-ranked Liberty Flames to the brink before ultimately falling in double overtime, 77-69, on Saturday afternoon in the Vines Center in Lynchburg.

The loss brings CSU's (14-9, 7-5 BSC) three-game win streak to an end and secures Liberty's (16-7, 11-1 BSC) spot atop the conference standings.

"Our players overcame a very, very sluggish start to the game," said head coach Julie Goodenough. "Kiki (Rutledge) and Shannon (Sanders) really sparked us off the bench and their aggressive play encouraged their teammates to attack more with the ball. We have to be more focused from the jump ball, especially when playing on the road."

The contest marked the return of Rutledge, who missed the past month and a half with an injury. Rutledge was 3-for-9 with a pair of treys for eight points in her return. She also dished out three assists.

Sanders had a career night, sinking three 3-pointers on her way to a career-high 13 points. However, it was once again Rachelle Coward who led the Bucs with 22 points, including a seven-for-10 day at the free throw line. One of her trips to the line was a crucial in pushing the game into double overtime. Saturday's contest marked the fifth consecutive game in which Coward has led the Bucs in scoring.

Lakeitha Alston finished the day with 14 points, also dishing out a team-high five assists and grabbing two steals. Kirklin Kirkpatrick also sunk a pair of treys to chip in with six points.

Reagan Miller led the Flames with 23 points, while Avery Worley recorded a double-double of 14 points and 23 rebounds. Tolu Omotola (11 points, 9 rebounds) and Danika Dale (12 points, 7 assists) each finished in double figures while Devon Brown notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Big South's best 3-point shooting team put up a fight against the BSC's best 3-point defense, as the Bucs sunk 13 shots from beyond the arc. However, Liberty easily won the battle of the glass, out-rebounding the Bucs, 60-30. The CSU reserves outscored the Liberty bench 23-5 and also took advantage of the Flames' miscues with 22 points off turnovers to Liberty's nine points off 15 CSU miscues.

Charleston Southern was forced to battle back from a rocky start after shooting just 17 percent early on. The Flames shot out to an 8-0 lead, holding the Bucs without a bucket for the first four and half minutes of the game. A pair of treys from Alston and Rutledge started a 12-4 run to close out the half, bringing the Buccaneers within six at halftime at 32-24.

It was again long-range game that allowed CSU to make a second half comeback, as eight of CSU's ten buckets in the final 20 minutes of regulation were from beyond the arc. Sanders hit a trey with 3:18 to go to cut the Liberty lead to just one before two points in the paint by Coward gave the Bucs their first lead of the day with just over two minutes to play. Coward and Miller then traded shots from downtown to tie things up at 56-56 with under a minute in regulation, forcing overtime.

After an early 3-pointer from Sanders, the Flames took control of the extra period and went up by three on a pair of free-throws by Brown with 16 seconds to go. However, Coward was fouled attempting a three with four seconds left and hit all three shots at the line to force another overtime with the game tied at 66-66.

It was Coward again in the second overtime as she tallied the Bucs only points on a free-throw and a late jumper. The Bucs were no match for the Flames in the second extra period and were outscored, 11-3, as Liberty came away with the 77-69 win.

Charleston Southern will remain in Virginia to take on the Radford Highlanders in a 7 p.m. match up at the Dedmon Center in Radford.