CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern used a balanced team effort to defeat Southern Wesleyan on Friday at the Buc Dome, 94-56.

CSU improves to 4-5 following the win, while Southern Wesleyan fell to 1-7 with the loss. Lexii Cassell paced five Bucs in double figures with a career-high 12 points and ten rebounds. Weknyne Dumorne also posted a career night with 12 points, while Njeri Nelms, Tierra Steede and Shelby Wilbanks were all in double-digits with ten points apiece.

A total of 12 players scored for Charleston Southern, which shot 52.9% from the field and 50.0% from the three-point line. It was the first time this season that the Bucs eclipsed 50% in both field goal and three-point percentage.

An early 9-0 CSU run put the Bucs ahead 14-4 on a Dumorne layup with 5:18 left in the first quarter. Charleston Southern didn't slow down from there as a Burns trifecta gave CSU a 21-8 lead. Shauntavia Dobson had a steal on one end and a layup on the other end to make it 24-8 at the end of the first frame.

CSU's lead grew to 40-14 following a Nelms jumper with 5:04 to go in the second period. Southern Wesleyan cut the lead to 44-23 on a Breanna Richardson jumper, but the Bucs regained the momentum and Steede made a layup with three seconds left to put CSU ahead 56-26 at halftime.

Charleston Southern picked up where it left off in the second half as the Bucs held a 65-37 advantage after a Wilbanks jumper. Wilbanks connected on a three-pointer with 20 seconds on the clock as CSU led 70-38 at the end of the third stanza.

The Bucs cruised to the win in the final frame as Kailya Jackson scored eight points in the fourth quarter to pace CSU in closing out the win.

Inside the Numbers

• CSU shot 12-16 (75.0%) from the free throw line for its second best free throw percentage this season, trailing only the 79.2% it shot from the line at FIU.
• Weknyne Dumorne shot 5-6 (83.3%) from the field for her second best shooting performance this season. She added four rebounds and two blocks.
• Tierra Steede had a career-high ten points on 5-9 (55.6%) shooting from the field, while adding four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Shelby Wilbanks scored ten points for her third straight game with double-digit scoring. She added seven rebounds and a steal.
• CSU held a 48-32 rebounding advantage over the Warriors.

News and Notes

• Lexii Cassell recorded the first double-double of her CSU career and only the second double-double for the Bucs this season.
• CSU scored the most points in back-to-back games (185) since scoring 188 in wins over Trinity Baptist and Clearwater in 2014.
• Charleston Southern improves to 9-0 all-time against Southern Wesleyan.
• The Bucs have a two-game winning streak for the second time this season.
• Charleston Southern improves its 2017-18 record to 4-2 at the Buc Dome.
• CSU's 22 assists in the game is the second most assists they have had in an outing this season. It trails only the 24 assists recorded on Wednesday against Columbia International.

Up Next
CSU travels to play at Georgia Tech on Tuesday at 7 p.m. It will be CSU's final game before the Christmas holidays.