CHARLESTON, S.C. - Tierra Steede's career performance on Monday evening sparked Charleston Southern past visiting Columbia (S.C.) in the Buccaneer Field House, 76-59, as the Buccaneers picked up the win in their first action following the final exam break.

The Buccaneers (2-6) took control of the game midway through the first quarter on their way to building a double-digit lead at the halftime break. CSU held off a pesky Koala (1-8) second-half attack as Columbia threatened to cut the lead down to single digits on several occasions, before the Bucs put the game away from the free throw line.

Steede poured in a career-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while adding five rebounds and a trio of steals. She also went 6-of-6 from the free throw line to pace a Buccaneers' effort that had CSU combine to go 19-of-21 (90.5%) from the charity stripe in the win.

Carmella Walker added 14 points paced by a pair of three-pointers, while Sharita Godfrey narrowly missed out on the double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Columbia's Morgan Varn paced the visiting Koalas with 19 points and four rebounds to lead 10 different CC players in the scoring column on Friday night. Mya Benn led the team's rebounding efforts with seven, while Jenesai Mohammed added six points, three assists, and three steals.
 
First Quarter – Charleston Southern 20, Columbia 13
Columbia was hot out of the tipoff as the Koalas took advantage of a pair of early three-pointers from Mohammed and Hanna Kinard to go up 8-3 with 7:18 remaining in the first quarter. The Bucs rallied back with a 7-0 run with Steede and Tyra Wright combining for all seven CSU points over the stretch to pull ahead 10-8. Kinnard and Sha'Mya Leigh connected on back-to-back three-pointers to swap the lead again, before the Bucs took over late in the quarter. Asia Smith (short jumper) and Kelsie Ruff (three-pointer) connected on the final five points over the last 46 seconds in taking the seven-point lead into the break.

Second Quarter – Charleston Southern 37, Columbia 25
Columbia was again first on the board in the second quarter as the Koalas put the first five points in the basket on Mary Wembley's layup and Varn's three-pointer. Ahlea Myers drilled her first triple of the game from the right corner to end the Koalas' stretch and put the lead back to two possessions. Columbia cut the CSU advantage down to two points with 4:47 to play in the first half to narrow the score to 25-23. The Bucs closed out the half on a 9-0 run capped by Godfrey's floater at the buzzer to take the 12-point lead into the locker room.

Third Quarter – Charleston Southern 62, Columbia 45
The third quarter was all Tierra Steede as the senior forward poured in 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor and converted all four of her free throw attempts to pace the Bucs to a 17-point lead. The Bucs lead remained at double-digits throughout the quarter, going up by as many as 17 points on three separate occasions, including at 62-45 with 35 seconds remaining on a Steede layup.

Fourth Quarter – Charleston Southern 76, Columbia 59
Columbia narrowed the game down to 11 points with 3:20 remaining in the fourth quarter as Darin Watkins connected on a layup to cut the CSU lead down to 68-57. The Bucs took over from the free throw line following a Walker layup at the 2:10 mark as Steede and Godfrey were a perfect 4-of-4 down the stretch in securing the CSU win.

Inside the Statistics

• Charleston Southern was 26-of-60 (43.3%) from the floor, 5-of-18 (27.8%) from the three-point line, and 19-of-21 (90.5%) from the free throw line in the win.
• Columbia was 21-of-66 (31.8%) from the field, 5-of-20 (25.0%) from behind the arc, and 12-of-16 (75.0%) from the charity stripe in the loss.
• The Buccaneers took advantage of 28 Columbia turnovers on their way to converting them into 25 points.
• The Bucs held the narrow 32-30 edge in points in the paint, while Columbia had the 42-40 rebounding advantage.
• Three Buccaneers were ranked plus-20 in the contest paced by Walker (+24), Kelsie Ruff (+24), and Sha'Mya Leigh (+21).
• The Bucs held the 16-11 edge in second chance points on Monday evening.
• Four different CSU players recorded at least two steals in the game, while four Bucs also posted at least three assists against the Koalas.

News & Notes

• CSU's performance at the charity stripe (90.5%) marked the ninth-highest single game free throw percentage in team history.
• Tierra Steede's 24 point performance established a new career-high for the senior forward, surpassing her previous mark of 14 points, also set against Columbia (S.C.) in last season's matchup against the Koalas on December 15, 2018.
• Monday's game featured the fourth different lineup configuration for the Bucs through the first eight games as Steede and Tori Gittens joined lineup regulars Tyra Wright, Walker, and Leigh.
• CSU's 43.3% field goal percentage marked the Bucs' third consecutive game hitting at least 40.0% from the field.
• CSU's 12 teams steals marked the fifth consecutive game with at least 10 steals.
• The Bucs' 17 assists also marked CSU's third consecutive game with at least double-digit helpers.
• Sharita Godfrey hit double-digits in the scoring column for the third consecutive game and sixth in the last seven contests.
• Walker posted her fourth double-digit scoring effort of the season.

Tweet of the Postgame
 

That winning feeling for @CSUBucsWBB

Also, a sweet @Ahlea_Myers24 3??-ball never gets old#BucsWin | #builtBUCtough pic.twitter.com/cwpUrT7luk

— Charleston Southern (@csusports) December 17, 2019

Up Next
Charleston Southern is back in action on Friday, December 20, as the Buccaneers welcome College of Charleston to the Buccaneer Field House for a Lowcountry showdown. Tipoff between the Bucs and the Cougars is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.