CHARLESTON, S.C. -  The Charleston Southern women's basketball team defeated the Western Carolina Catamounts 62-43 to snap a four-game losing streak.
 
First Half
The Bucs (2-4) outscored the Catamounts 17-4 in the first quarter, pulling down nine offensive rebounds, which led to eight second-chance points. The Catamounts (3-3) had seven turnovers in the quarter and were held to just 2/10 scoring.  
 
The struggles from the field continued in the second quarter for Western Carolina until the 7:26 mark, when they hit a two-point shot to cut the deficit to 19-6. That shot ended a six-minute and forty-eight second scoring drought.  
 
The Catamounts were unable to cut the deficit closer than 13 points, as the Bucs closed the half on a 13-2 run to take a 35-11 lead into the locker room.  
 
Western Carolina was held to 16% shooting and were 0/7 from beyond the arc. The bench carried the Bucs in the first half, scoring 22 of the 35 points. Sha'Mya Leigh and Carleigh Andrews each had nine points to lead the Bucs, while Catherine Alben added seven of her own. Kennedi Jackson had the most rebounds with five. 
 
Second Half 
The Catamounts came out firing in the third quarter, as they started the half on an 11-4 run capped off with a three-pointer, forcing the Buccaneers to call a timeout. 
 
Western Carolina more than doubled their points in the third quarter, outscoring the Bucs 16-6 to put the score at 41-27 at the start of the fourth quarter. Charleston Southern turned it over eight times in the third period and were just 3/10 from the field.  

The Catamounts cut the lead to as low as 12 in the fourth quarter, but were outscored by the Bucs 21-16 to close the game out. The Bucs finished 8/12 from the field in the final quarter and 5/6 from the free throw line.
 
Stand Outs

• For the third time this season, Catherine Alben led all scorers with 18 points while adding six rebounds and two steals. This was her second highest point total of the season.
• This was the second straight game that Carleigh Andrews had a career high in scoring. The freshman had nine points and six rebounds in 22 minutes.
• The bench was the key for the Bucs in the win today, as they contributed 35 points.
• Defensively, CSU played one of their best games of the season, forcing turnovers with eight steals.
• Madison Adamson was the leading rebounder on the day for the Bucs with seven. Alben and Andrews also added six as well. The Bucs had 44 rebounds overall including 14 on the offensive side that led to 11 second-chance points.

 
Next Up
The Bucs are back in action this Saturday at 7 p.m. as they travel to Furman to take on the Paladins.