RALEIGH, N.C. - Strong defense in the second half helped host N.C. State pull away from visiting Charleston Southern on Tuesday evening as the Wolfpack handed the Lady Bucs their first defeat in the 2012-2013 season, 81-54.

CSU (2-1) suffers their first loss of the season despite a strong first half effort which saw the Lady Bucs cut the lead down to four points with a 14-3 run behind five first half points by freshman guard Zhaquondalee Greer. N.C. State (5-0) records their second consecutive victory over a Big South opponent with the win, improving to 2-0 against the Big South behind a game-high 20 points by Kody Burke.

Lakeitha Alston led Charleston Southern with 19 points from the floor in the game, while Shay Jones added nine points in her first start in the 2012-2013 regular season.

North Carolina State opened up the first half in the Reynolds Coliseum hitting their first six shots from the floor in building a 14-5 lead at the 15:44 mark led by five early points by Marissa Kastanek as N.C. State took the early lead in the first half.

Alston led the way for the Lady Bucs offense in the early minutes, hitting the first five points of the game for CSU. The senior forward led all players with 11 points over the first 20 minutes as Charleston Southern fought their way back back from their early deficit.

A layup by Markeisha Gatling gave the Wolfpack their largest lead of the period at 33-18 as NCSU built a 15-point advantage with less than seven minutes to play in the period.

Charleston Southern battled back behind their bench play as Greer and Anicia Dotson combined for eight points during a 14-3 run for CSU as the Lady Bucs rallied to bring the game back to within four at 36-32 following a short jumper in the left corner by Greer. The freshman guard also hit her first three-pointer of the season during the run and added two steals in nine first half minutes to help spark the comeback.

Len'Nique Brown closed out the half with a running jumper in the lane with nine ticks left on the clock to send the teams into the locker room with the Wolfpack holding the narrow 38-32 margin.

Alston came out of the break on the first possession of the second half driving into the lane for the layup and Shay Jones converted on a steal off an N.C. State inbounds play, going the distance to cut the lead down to two at 38-36 as CSU brought the game back to within one possession with 19:06 to play.

A strong defensive effort by the Wolfpack following the early CSU scoring spurt led to a 17-0 run spanning just over six minutes before Alston drove in from the left corner for the baseline layup at the 13:01 mark to put the score at 55-38. Burke led the way for NCSU during the stretch with eight points while Kastanek connected on seven as the Wolfpack stretched their lead back out to double-digits.

The lead reached 20 with 11:56 to play in the game at 60-40 following a layup by Markeisha Gatling.

The Wolfpack closed out the contest outscoring the Lady Bucs 21-14 in the 81-54 victory.

The Wolfpack had three players in double-digits led by Burke's 20 points, while Kastanek hit three three-pointers in finishing with 17 points. Gatling added 12 points from the floor on six-of-eight shooting as N.C. State connected on 52.5 percent of their shot attempts in the game.

Charleston Southern continues the 2012-2013 regular season at home this weekend as the Lady Bucs welcome Paine College to the Buc Dome on Saturday, November 24th. Tipoff between CSU and the Lions is set for 2 p.m.