CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern was unable to hold off a surging North Dakota offense in the fourth quarter as the Buccaneers fell to the visiting Fighting Hawks on Saturday afternoon in the Buccaneer Field House, 73-57.

The Bucs (0-5) held the lead after the opening quarter and kept the margin at three points (51-48) heading into the fourth quarter. A layup by Kelsie Ruff at the 8:28 mark in the fourth cut the UND (7-2) lead down to 52-50, but the Fighting Hawks responded with the next seven points on their way to pulling away from CSU late in the contest.

CSU was paced by Ruff's career-high 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while Carmella Walker was 12-of-12 from the free throw line on her way to finishing with 14 points. Ruff added a career-high six steals in the loss, while Sharita Godrey was CSU's rebounding leader with eight in the contest.

Fleecs took control of the game inside for the Fighting Hawks on her way to finishing with a game-high 20 points. Keplin added 18 points highlighted by five three-pointers, while Kacie Borowicz added 13 points and three assists off the bench. Melissa Leet nearly recorded a double-double for UND with nine points and 10 rebounds.

First Quarter – Charleston Southern 17, North Dakota 16
The teams battled through a mostly scoreless two minutes as both sides engaged in full-court and half-court traps on the defensive side of the ball. Claire Orth put the Fighting Hawks on the board with their first three-pointer of the game at the 8:11 mark, while Walker responded with a pair of free throws for CSU's first points of the game. Ruff took over with a three-point play to give CSU its first lead of the game, and her jumper at the 6:21 mark put the Bucs ahead 9-3. Ruff again swung the advantage to the Bucs late in the quarter with a jumper in the paint at the 1:38 mark to give CSU the one-point lead heading into the second quarter.

Second Quarter – North Dakota 34, Charleston Southern 28
The Fighting Hawks connected on four three-pointers to put together a 12-point swing to start the second quarter as Jaclyn Jarnot, Keplin (twice) and Mikayla Reinke all converted from behind the arc to swing the UND lead to 28-17. Asia Smith stopped the UND run with a layup at the 4:17 mark for CSU's first points of the quarter, but Fleecs converted on a three-point play a minute later to give the Fighting Hawks the 31-20 lead. CSU cut the lead down to six on two separate occasions with Ruff (two FTs) and Smith (jumper in the paint) narrowing the gap down heading into the half.

Third Quarter – North Dakota 51, Charleston Southern 48
Jaclyn Jarnot was the first one the board in the third quarter with a turnaround jumper to stretch the UND lead back to eight points, before Tyra Wright took over for CSU. The freshman center connected on a layup, and then drained a three-pointer from the top of the key at the 8:06 mark to cut the lead to 36-33. CSU tied the game up from the free throw line on a pair of Walker free throws. Keplin and Borowicz drilled back-to-back three-pointers prior to the media timeout to put UND back ahead by six. CSU tied it back up from the free throw line again as Walker drilled two at the 1:48 mark to put the score at 48-48. Fleecs converted the final two baskets of the quarter for the Fighting Hawks to give UND the 51-48 lead heading into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter – North Dakota 73, Charleston Southern 57
North Dakota started the final quarter on a 7-2 run on their way to building a nine-point advantage on Orth's jumper at the 7:17 mark. The Fighting Hawks' lead reached 10 points on Keplin's triple with 4:20 to play as the Bucs trailed 64-54. CSU attempted to battle back from the line, but late three-pointers from Fleecs and Keplin held off the charge as the Bucs fell to the visiting Hawks on Saturday afternoon.

Inside the Numbers

• Charleston Southern shot 36.2% (17-of-47) from the field, 3-of-13 (23.1%) from the three-point line, and 20-of-24 (83.3%) from the free throw line in the loss.
• North Dakota was 41.5% (27-of-65) overall, 34.5% (10-of-29) from the three-point line, and 9-of-15 (60.0%) from the free throw line on Saturday afternoon.
• The Bucs led the way in points from the paint (24-20) and the edge in fast break points (8-5) thanks to their half-court pressure.
• North Dakota utilized their size on the inside to hold the 14-7 advantage on second chance points.
• Paced by Keplin and Borowicz, the Fighting Hawks held the 34-11 advantage on points off the bench.
• UND held the 43-29 rebounding edge and converted 10 three-pointers in the win.

News & Notes

• Paced by Kelsie Ruff's six steals, the Bucs posted a season-high 14 takeaways on Saturday afternoon against the Fighting Hawks.
• The Bucs posted season-highs in both free throws made (20) and free throw percentage (83.3%) in the loss to North Dakota.
• Carmella Walker became the 52nd Buccaneer in program history to post a perfect game from the free throw line with a minimum of six attempts as the junior went 12-of-12 from the charity stripe.
• CSU tied a season-high with nine assists in the contest, equaling the mark set against S.C. State back on November 9.
• CSU falls to 0-1 all-time against North Dakota.
• North Dakota was coached by CSU men's basketball alum Travis Brewster (1994 alum).

Up Next
Charleston Southern makes their final road trip prior to the Christmas holidays on Wednesday, December 4, as the Buccaneers travel to Cullowee, N.C. for a midweek matchup at Western Carolina. Tipoff between the Bucs and the Catamounts is set for 7 p.m. in the Ramsey Center.