Charleston Southern University Athletics
4-4
Western Caro.
3-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Carolina | 31 | 30 | 61 |
| Charleston Southern | 26 | 43 | 69 |
Bratcher's career game leads Lady Bucs over Catamounts, 69-61
12/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Erin Bratcher scored a career high 25 points and Lakeitha Alston moved into ninth on the Lady Bucs' all-time scoring list as Charleston Southern held off Western Carolina inside the Buc Dome, 69-61.
Bratcher scored 14 points in the first half and added 11 more in the second in eclipsing her previous career mark of 20 points as the junior guard matched a career high with six made three-pointers in Charleston Southern's (5-4) final game before the team breaks for the Christmas holidays.
"I think one thing that stands out is that we came out and executed in the second half," commented head coach Fred Applin about the game. "We had eight unforced turnovers in the first half, but Shay (Jones) gave us a spark of the bench leading our team with her hustle as we out-rebounded Western in the second half."
Shay Jones finished with 15 points for Charleston Southern, doing all of her damage in the second half and added a team-high eight rebounds in 22 minutes' action. Jones entered the game hitting 94.7 percent of her free throw attempts on the season and went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe, including a perfect 4-of-4 in the final 31 seconds to close out the win.
"Erin (Bratcher) shot the ball very well today and hit multiple open looks for our offense," said Applin on the team's top performers on the day. "Shay also rebounded and shot it very well, hitting a key three-pointer for us in the second half and also led our team at the free throw line as we shot a season-high 26 attempts there today."
Alston added 12 points in the victory moving into ninth in the all-time scoring rankings for the Lady Bucs as she passed Jennifer Steadman (1992-97) finishing the contest with 1,163 career points scored.
Western Carolina (3-6) falls for the first time in series history to Charleston Southern as the Catamounts had entered the game victorious in each of their previous six encounters. Ali Lane led the way for the visitors with 17 points as 10 different WCU players scored in the game. Shauna Terry led all players with 10 rebounds and added six points and two blocks for Western in the loss.
Bratcher opened the scoring two minutes into the game with a three-pointer from the top of the key as the Lady Bucs held the early lead over Western Carolina. Diamond Hunnicutt scored the first points of the game for the visiting Catamounts with a jumper as the teams traded baskets with Fowler and Bratcher adding points for CSU as the Lady Bucs held the 7-4 lead with 16:13 left in the half.
Hunnicutt cut the lead down to one point with a pair of free throws at the 15:24 mark before Erika Joseph gave the visitors their first lead of the contest with a jumper inside the paint on WCU's next offensive possession. Fowler answered with a steal and layup to give CSU the temporary advantage, but Joseph again connected from inside to put Western up 10-9 with 13:15 remaining in the half.
Western Carolina would stretch out their first half lead by as many as eight following a three-pointer by Lindsay Simpson at the 7:29 mark in the half as the Catamounts went up 24-16. Charleston Southern answered as Lakeitha Alston connected on a three-pointer for CSU and Bratcher hit her fourth three-pointer of the half as the Lady Bucs brought the game back to within one possession at 26-24 with 5:25 on the clock.
Hunnicutt converted the second of two free throw attempts with five minutes remaining in the half to extend the lead to three as the defenses took over with neither team scoring over a four minute span before Ali Lane connected on a three-pointer with 1:12 left in the opening half.
Anicia Dotson snapped a 5:06 scoring drought for the Lady Bucs with a jumper inside the paint with 19 ticks left on the clock, but Kristen Lyon converted a free throw attempt to send the teams into the locker room at the halftime break with Western Carolina holding the 31-26 lead.
Hana Haden came out of the break with a three-pointer to extend the WCU lead back to eight points, but Dotson answered with a three of her own and Bratcher was fouled on a three-point attempt, converting all three free throws to cut the lead down to two at 34-32 with 18:01 to play in the game.
Western held the lead over the next 10 minutes going up by as many as six on a pair of free throws by Lane. Charleston Southern rallied back behind 15 second half points by Shay Jones to take the lead at 48-47 with 8:39 to play as Alston converted two free throw attempts.
Bratcher followed with her sixth three-pointer of the game to extend the lead to four as Charleston Southern and Western Carolina fought through a two-possession game throughout the remainder of the contest.
WCU brought the game back to within one point at 58-57 following a layup by Hunnicutt, but CSU responded with a 6-0 run capped by a Jones' three-pointer from the left corner with 1:07 remaining in the contest to put the score at 64-57.
Jones and Fowler closed out the game from the free throw line as the duo converted five of their final six attempts from the charity stripe as the Lady Bucs defeated Western Carolina 69-61.
Charleston Southern took control of the boards in the second half out-rebounding Western Carolina 20-11 over the final 20 minutes and the Lady Bucs shot 55.6 percent (10-of-18) in the second half in recording their first come-from-behind win on the season.
As a team, Charleston Southern shot 45.5 percent (20-of-44) from the floor and 55.0 percent (11-of-20) from behind the arc in the victory.
"One of the things I told our girls at the half was just play basketball; play solid defense, run our plays and just have fun out there on the court and it'll help us win," commented Applin after the game. "We start preparing for College of Charleston on the 26th. They feature a good inside-outside game and they're a solid team. We've got to play good team defense against them and it should be a good game."
Charleston Southern takes a two week hiatus before returning to the court on Monday, December 31st as the Lady Bucs ring in the New Year against local rival College of Charleston. Tipoff inside the Buc Dome between the Lady Bucs and the Cougars is set for 1 p.m.
