ATLANTA – Alyssia Faye put together a dominating performance on both ends of the floor but the Charleston Southern women's basketball team fell just short in its quest of a victory Saturday afternoon, dropping a 52-51 decision to South Alabama in the opening contest of the Georgia State Holiday Classic in Atlanta.

FAYE'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Faye led all players with 12 points and 14 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and the fifth of her CSU career. The 12 points mark the third time this year she has reached the double-figure plateau, while the 14 boards surpass her previous career high set at USC Upstate March 6, 2021.

The Valence, France, native corralled 10 of her caroms on the defensive glass and she also made all four of her free throw attempts, handed out a career and game-high three assists and shared game-best honors with two steals.

SPARK OFF THE BENCH
Madison Adamson gave the Buccaneers a boost off the bench, draining a pair of 3-pointers and dropping in 3-of-4 at the charity stripe for a career-high nine points to go along with her five rebounds. The freshman from Hoover, Alabama, previously had seven points in matchups at Western Carolina and against Belmont Abbey.

LEIGH GETS UP
Starting guard Sha'Mya Leigh had a strong defensive effort, securing four defensive rebounds and leading all players with two blocked shots. The rejections match her career best, set two times previously but not since nearly two years ago to the day, Dec. 21, 2020, at Hampton.

REBOUNDING WIN
Seven different Bucs had rebounds and each one hauled in at least three, helping Charleston Southern (0-9) win the battle on the glass, 42-to-36. It is the first time this season and under head coach Clarisse Garcia CSU outrebounded its opponent.

NO BLOCKS ALLOWED
The Buccaneers continued to find their shots without allowing a blocked shot against them, a feat reached for the second-straight game. Charleston Southern also had zero blocks against it when it faced Furman Thursday evening inside the Buc Dome.

STRONG DEFENSIVELY
CSU held South Alabama (6-5) to 27.9 percent shooting for the contest, the lowest by an opponent this year. That was mainly due to a 1-of-24 (4.2 percent) shutdown on the Lady Jaguars' attempts from behind the 3-point arc.

Other notable season lows by a Bucs opponent established Saturday included points (52), points in a half (23; 1st) and rebounds (36).

QUICK TURNAROUND
Charleston Southern will have just over 24 hours to prepare for its next contest, as it stays in the Peach State capital for a 2 p.m. Sunday tip-off against host Georgia State. The Panthers opened their own tournament by playing host to Tulsa Saturday afternoon.