Charleston Southern University Athletics
4-4
Trinity Baptist
6-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity Baptist | 25 | 21 | 46 |
| Charleston Southern | 38 | 33 | 71 |
Lady Bucs snap skid with 71-46 win over Trinity Baptist
12/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Four players scored in double-digits for the Lady Bucs on Monday evening as Charleston Southern snapped a three-game skid in defeating Trinity Baptist inside the Buc Dome, 71-46.
Lakeitha Alston scored a game-high 17 points, 16 in the first half, as CSU (4-4) pulled away from Trinity Baptist (6-6). DJ Fowler added 11 points in the win, while Erin Bratcher (10) and Carra Coy (10) were also in double-digits for the Lady Bucs. Anicia Dotson pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds as Charleston Southern held the 51-37 rebounding advantage in the game over the visiting Lady Eagles.
Valeria Leland paced Trinity's efforts on the floor with a double-double, scoring 13 points and added 11 rebounds in 37 minutes of action, while Nicole Collins scored a team-high 15 points before fouling out in the loss.
Charleston Southern was buoyed by an 11-0 run to cap off the first half in building the 38-25 advantage heading into the locker room and the Lady Bucs' bench out-scored Trinity Baptist 19-0 in the second half as CSU turned 10 Lady Eagles' turnovers into 11 points in recording their fourth win of the season.
"I think defense is going to win basketball games for us," commented head coach Fred Applin about the team's early struggles on the court. "We have to rebound and be patient in running our offense. We need to work on the little things as we had a number of unforced turnovers, hurting ourselves in the first half as we gave up too many easy baskets."
Bratcher put the Lady Bucs on the board first, connecting on a three-pointer on the opening possession while Collins followed with a trey of her own as the teams battled evenly throughout the opening minutes of the first half.
Anasia Hughes followed with a short jumper inside the right wing, while Collins hit a free throw to give the visiting Eagles the 6-3 lead less than three minutes into the contest. Alston answered with a three-pointer and Monique Maximilien converted a free throw attempt and put in a layup to give CSU the 9-6 advantage with 15:07 left in the first half.
Trinity kept the game within two possessions, cutting the score down to one point at 11-10 following a jumper by Tendye Gainous before the Lady Eagles evened the score at 16-all with 9:24 remaining in the opening period following back-to-back Collins' baskets inside the arc.
Fowler and Gainous traded layups on the following two possessions to keep the score knotted at 18 apiece before Fowler converted a pair of free throws to give CSU the 20-18 lead with 8:20 left in the half.
The lead reached five following a Dotson three-pointer from the left wing with 7:33 on the clock, putting the score at 23-18. TBC cut the lead back down to with one point at 25-24 with a 6-2 run as Hughes, Kaneesha Ellick and Leland all scored baskets for the Lady Eagles during the stretch.
Alston pushed the lead to three with a jumper inside the paint with 2:51 on the clock. Following a Leland free throw, Alston scored the next six points for the Lady Bucs, sparking an 11-0 run spanning the final 1:51 of the half as CSU began to pull away from the Lady Eagles.
Fowler added a three-pointer during the stretch, while Zhaquondalee' Greer ended the first half with a steal near the three-point line, taking it all the way to the other end for the breakaway layup to give the Lady Bucs the 38-25 halftime lead.
CSU continued their run into the second half, going up by 20 at the 13:08 mark following an Alston free throw putting the score at 52-32. Bratcher and Dotson connected on three-pointers during the stretch, while Maximilien converted a three-point play with a layup and free throw for the Lady Bucs.
"Carra (Coy) came in and had a good game for us as we made the change in our defensive sets in the second half and began moving the ball down low," commented Applin about the team's performance in the second half. "In the first half, everyone wanted to shoot the first shot, but against a zone, you have to look at the options and we kept the ball moving."
Trinity Baptist brought the game back to within 14 with 10:11 left in the game as Hughes connected on a jumper in the paint putting the game at 54-40 at the midway point of the half.
Charleston Southern followed with a 7-0 run in putting the game away as Coy converted the three-point play and Shay Jones went in for the fast break layup putting the score at 61-40 with six minutes to play in the game as the Lady Bucs led by as many 25 in the second half in closing out the 71-46 victory.
"Western Carolina is a very good, very talented team," said Applin of the Lady Bucs' upcoming opponent on Wednesday. "One through five they rebound and shoot very well and play solid defense. We'll take the next two days and work on us, taking care of the little things and focusing on rebounding, boxing out and doing the right things on our offensive sets as we prepare for the Catamounts."
Charleston Southern is back in action on Wednesday, December 19th, as the Lady Buccaneers host Western Carolina in their final game before Christmas. Tipoff for the afternoon contest between CSU and the Catamounts is set for 2 p.m.
