HAMPTON, Va. - Makenna Winans paced Charleston Southern with a team-high 14 points and the Buccaneers hit clutch free throws down the stretch as CSU toppled Hampton for the second time in as many days on Tuesday afternoon, 58-53.
 
Winans connected on the go-ahead three-pointer, her fourth of the game, with 1:56 remaining in the fourth quarter to stake the Buccaneers (4-2, 2-0 Big South) to the 50-47 lead. Following a Dlayla Chakolis free throw conversion, Carmella Walker spun through the lane and got the floating jumper to land and make it a two-possession game with 44 seconds remaining.
 
From there, CSU went to work from the free throw line with Sha'Mya Leigh, Alyssia Faye, and Walker all converting a pair from the stripe and held off the Hampton (0-3, 0-2 Big South) comeback attempt as the Buccaneers closed out the 58-53 win.
 
The Buccaneers led by as many as 13 points in the first half behind Winans' three first-half three-pointers, and rarely trailed throughout the contest in their second win over the Pirates. Winans finished with a team-high 14 points, while Faye added 10 points and a pair of blocked shots in the win.
 
Nylah Young led all scorers with 15 points for the host Pirates as Hampton fell to 0-2 in Big South play on the season. Chakolis added 11 points off the bench, while Heaven Accimeus chipped in eight points in the loss.
 
First Quarter
Similar to Monday's contest, the game started out in a defensive battle as the Bucs went seven minutes without scoring in the opening period, while Hampton failed to record a point over the final five minutes of the quarter. Jamya Rogers opened the Bucs' scoring with a layup and free throw on CSU's opening possession, but Hampton responded with nine consecutive points highlighted by Nas Nigatu and Victoria Davis three-pointers. Tori Gittens ended CSU's scoreless streak at the 2:25 mark in the first quarter with a key three-pointer and Winans connected on one with eigh seconds remaining to give the Bucs the 10-9 lead at the break.
 
Second Quarter
The Bucs' offense and defense took over for a majority of the second quarter as CSU limited Hampton without a score for 7:45 in building a 27-14 lead. Winans and Sharita Godfrey drilled three-pointers during a 12-0 CSU run before Hampton's Victoria Davis ended the HU scoreless drought with a three-pointer at the 1:03 mark. Leigh's late free throw sent the teams into the locker room with the Bucs ahead 28-19.
 
Third Quarter
Young and Accimeus narrowed the CSU lead down to 34-29 as the duo went on a 10-6 run against the Bucs over the first five minutes of the second half. Winans drove in for a layup and Gittens connected on another three-pointer to stretch the CSU lead back out to 39-32, but five points from Accimeus before the break sent the teams into the fourth quarter with the Bucs leading 39-37.
 
Fourth Quarter
Hampton fought its way back into the lead at the 5:40 mark as Alexis Wooden and Young converted free throws to give the Pirates the 47-45 lead. Faye answered with a jumper at the 3:11 mark to tie the game, before Winans' three-pointer from the top of the key a little over a minute later swung the lead back to the Bucs for good. CSU went 6-of-8 as a team from the free throw line down the stretch on their way to securing their second conference win.

Play of the Game

4Q | Makenna. Winans.

That's all!

Bucs lead 50-47 with under two minutes to play pic.twitter.com/th5tUuBVKq

— CSU Women's Basketball (@CSUBucsWBB) December 22, 2020

 
CSU Key Players

• Makenna Winans – 14 points, 5-of-7 shooting, 4-of-4 3PT, four rebounds
• Alyssia Faye – 10 points, 3-of-9 shooting, 4-of-5 FT, two steals, two blocked shots
• Sha'Mya Leigh – Eight points, 8-of-10 FT, five rebounds, three assists, two steals
• Sharita Godfrey - Five points, 11 rebounds, one steal
• Jamya Rogers – Eight points, 3-of-4 shooting, five rebounds, one blocked shot
• Tori Gittens – Six points, 2-of-3 3PT, four rebounds, two blocked shots

Team Statistics of Note

• Charleston Southern shot 35.6% (16-of-45) from the floor and 36.8% (7-of-19) from the three-point line in the win.
• The Buccaneers converted 19-of-28 (67.9%) from the free throw line as a team paced by Leigh's 8-of-10 performance from the stripe.
• CSU won the rebounding battle over the Pirates, 39-32.
• Hampton held the bench points edge, 26-20, points off turnovers edge (12-7), and points in the paint advantage (16-14).
• After Monday's game featured 15 ties, Tuesday's contest saw only six lead changes and three tie scores throughout the game.

News & Notes

• The Bucs put out just their second different starting lineup of the season as Jamya Rogers joined Walker, Leigh, Godfrey, and Faye among the starters in Tuesday's game.
• Winans' 14 points marked her first double-digit collegiate scoring game.
• Faye was back in double-digits for the third time in the 2020-21 season.
• Godfrey's 11 rebounds tied a career-high for the junior wing as she equaled her mark set against Winthrop last season on January 25, 2020.
• CSU's seven three-pointers marked the second-most made by the team in the 2020-21 season.
• The Bucs start 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2011-12 season when CSU topped Presbyterian and Winthrop in back-to-back games to open Big South play.
• CSU recorded a conference sweep for the second time in as many seasons after topping UNC Asheville in both regular season contests in 2019-20.
• The Bucs improve to 4-3 all-time against Hampton in the series between the two teams.
• Tuesday's contest marked the fourth consecutive game in the series decided by single digits.

Up Next
Charleston Southern makes their Big South home debut against Gardner-Webb University on January 4-5 as the Buccaneers host the Runnin' Bulldogs in the two-game set. Tipoff on January 4 is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.