Near Comeback; Bucs rally falls short in 75-73 loss to UTSA

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Charleston Southern women’s basketball team fell behind big early and had its mettle tested as it fought back to fall by the slimmest of margins, 75-73 to University of Texas San Antonio Friday night at CSU Field House in the first day of the Lowcountry Women’s Classic.

The Buccaneers (1-1, 0-0 Big South Conference) dropped their first game of the season, but proved it can hang with one of the best teams in the country, as UTSA (2-1) was coming off its second-straight Southland Conference Tournament Championship in 2008-09 and its second-straight berth in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship.

CSU jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead when Ali Schwagmeyer made a wide-open layup right after Katie Tull took possession of the jump ball.

The momentum from the early lead was quickly wiped out by the Roadrunners as they used a 15-2 run to pull ahead 15-4 in the early going. Charleston Southern used the rest of the opening half to fight and claw its way back from the early deficit, and got to within three points at halftime 36-33.

CSU came out strong in the second half, tying the game at 45-45 with 15:24 remaining in the game on a layup by Helen Terry. The bucket capped a 7-0 run for Charleston Southern and forced UTSA to use a timeout to try and regroup.

An and-one play by Kelsey Wasmer with 14:31 to play gave the Buccaneers a slim edge, but Amber Gregg hit a three on the next Roadrunner possession, and CSU would never reclaim the lead.

Charleston Southern would tie the game on two more occasions, but a 65-65 tie with 4:47 to play would be the last time the home team would own a piece of the lead. The Buccaneers went cold and allowed a 6-0 run to fall behind 71-65. They battled back for the final few minutes of regulation, but could not get any closer than two points.

The Buccaneers were led by Tull and Terry, who each had 16 points. Tull shot 4-for-9 from behind the three-point line, and finished 6-of-13 from the field in 38 minutes. Terry added five rebounds and three steals in her 6-for-14 performance, but turned the ball over six times. She was a perfect 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.

Wasmer hit three three-point shots, and finished with 13 points. Schwagmeyer and Lakeitha Alston both brought down 10 rebounds, and helped CSU outrebound UTSA 46-45.

Whitney York led the way for the Roadrunners as she scored 18 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field. She also went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Judy Jones had a solid game, scoring 15 points and adding eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals despite going 3-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Amber Gregg scored 14 points and Ashleigh Franklin added a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds)

UTSA shot 46 percent from the field in the contest, while the Buccaneers were only able to manage a 36-percent clip from the field. The Roadrunners also used a 26-17 advantage in the points-off-turnovers category to help seal the victory.

Charleston Southern will have a quick turnaround as the blue and gold will do battle with Mercer University at 6 p.m. Nov. 21 at CSU Field House. The Bears fell earlier in the day to College of Charleston 97-71 in the Buc Dome in the first game of the Lowcountry Women’s Classic.