Finishing Strong; Big second half propels Bucs to 95-55 victory over Rams

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Charleston Southern women’s basketball team had a sluggish first half, but came out firing on all cylinders in the second half to cruise to a 95-55 victory over Bluefield (Va.) College Tuesday night at CSU Field House.

Katie Tull led all scorers with 23 points in a game-high 35 minutes, and she led the CSU (2-2, 0-0 Big South Conference) offensive attack that knocked down 12 three point shots and shot 36 percent from behind the arc and 46 percent for the game.

Kelsey Wasmer and Helen Terry each scored 16 points, with the duo combining to knock down five three’s. Ten of Terry’s points came from the free-throw line and Wasmer finished 6-of-12 from the field.

Shay Jones recorded her first-career start and responded by scoring nine points and grabbing eight rebounds. Lakeitha Alston also started in her first-career game and gave Charleston Southern 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting and eight rebounds.

LeChell Rush only scored four points, but she pulled down 10 rebounds. Ali Schwagmeyer came off the bench and had a huge game, grabbing 11 rebounds (eight offensive) and scoring nine points with a near-perfect 4-of-5 shooting.

The Buc defense was on lockdown mode against the Rams (6-4, 1-1 Appalachian Athletic Conference), holding them to a 24 percent shooting performance and only 1-for-19 from three-point land.

Only two players managed more than eight points, led by Kia Gilliard who scored 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting. She also grabbed seven rebounds in 22 minutes and went 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. Takieya Rouse added 10 on 5-of-13 shooting in 26 minutes.

The first five minutes of action was a struggle for Charleston Southern, as the home team could only manage a 10-7 advantage with six missed shots and two turnovers.

The light came on for the Buccaneers at the 15-minute mark, and they began to pull away. CSU used a quick four-minute, 10-0 run to take a 20-7 lead, and the two teams would jockey for position the remainder of the half. Charleston Southern took a 39-27 advantage into the break.

The wheels began to come off for Bluefield College after they cut the lead to 10 three minutes into the second half. A steal and a layup by Rush sparked a 31-6 run that spanned the better part of eight minutes, and the game would end on a high note for Charleston Southern in the 95-55 blowout win.

The Buccaneers improve to 4-0 all-time against current members of the Appalachian Athletic Conference, and they are also now 1-0 all-time against the Rams.

Charleston Southern will next suit up for action at 2 p.m. Nov. 28 at home against South Carolina State University.