GREENVILLE, N.C. - The Charleston Southern women's basketball team was defeated by the East Carolina Pirates on Sunday night, as they fall to 1-4 on the season with the 64-31 loss. 
 
First Half
The Bucs (1-4) got off to a slow start, allowing the Pirates to start the game on a 15-0 run. The Bucs did not score for the first five minutes of the game and turned the ball over eight times during that stretch. The run ended on a Catherine Alben three-point field goal. Charleston Southern was held to just seven points in the first quarter and only two field goals, both of which were scored by Alben.

Neither team shot the ball well in the second quarter, as the Bucs hit just one field goal in the first five minutes of the quarter; however, their defense was able to keep them in the game. The Pirates hit on just three field goals, and were held scoreless for the final 3:21 of the first half.

The Bucs finished the half on a bit of a run, as Carleigh Andrews hit back-to-back threes to end the first half. The Pirates took a 29-18 lead into the locker room.

Alben led the way with seven points for the Bucs, and Andrews added six of her own. The Bucs had 21 first-half turnovers, leading to 22 of the 29 points scored by the Pirates. The Pirates were just 29% from the field, while
the Bucs were 40% from the field on 6-15 shooting.
 
Second Half
Charleston Southern struggled coming out of the half. The Pirates scored six-straight points to take a 35-18 lead. Then, the Bucs cut the lead 37-22 with a three pointer by Andrews.  That would be the last point they scored for almost six minutes, when Jazmine Jackson had a steal and lay-up the other way to cut the deficit to 47-25. 

The lead got to as high as 33 in the second half, when the Pirates hit a lay-up with 1:04 left to take the 64-31 lead. The Bucs had two droughts in the fourth quarter and scored just four points in the final quarter. The first drought was 5:34, which included the end of the third quarter. The second drought was 4:18 seconds, which ended with free throws by Alba Garcia. 
 
Game Notes

• The Bucs came into the game averaging 25 turnovers per game. Today, they turned the ball over 31  times, which was the most in a game all season. That led to 30 points the other way. 
• There were 44 turnovers between CSU and ECU on Sunday. The school record for most turnovers combined is 51. 
• Charleston Southern scored just four points in the fourth quarter, which was tied for the lowest-scoring quarter all season.
• Catherine Alben was once again a bright spot for Charleston Southern. She finished with a team-high 11 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes
• Carleigh Andrews played a season-high 27 minutes tonight, which was the most she has played all season, and finished with a season-high seven points going 2/7 from the field. 

Next Game
Charleston Southern is back at the Buc Dome this Wednesday, as they host the Western Carolina Catamounts for an 11 a.m. tip-off. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+.