ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Charleston Southern was unable to keep their first half momentum in their Big South opener on Monday night inside Kimmel Arena as the Buccaneers fell to host UNC Asheville, 56-47.

Alise Karlsone scored double-digits to pace the CSU offense in the game with 10 points as CSU built a 17-4 lead in the first 10 minutes of the contest, but the Bucs were unable to hold off the host Bulldogs as Asheville used a 22-6 run in building a lead they would not relinquish on their way to the Big South win.

CSU falls to 2-3 overall on the season, 0-1 in conference play with the loss. Asheville improves to 2-4 and takes the early lead in conference play with 1-0 Big South record.

One game after setting a career-high at Florida with 23 points, Karlsone was again the CSU leading scorer with 10 points in the contest. The Saldus, Latvia native went 3-of-6 from the floor and 1-of-1 from behind the arc in leading the Bucs to a 35.4 percent shooting night from the floor.

Monique Maximilien added eight points and eight rebounds, while Marley Brown had eight points and three assists for the Bucs in the loss.

UNC Asheville had three players in double-digits led by Shonese Jones' game-high 15 points. Brittany Gwyn added 12 points, while KJ Weaver had 11 points and seven rebounds as the Bulldogs shot 38.0 percent from the floor as a team and held the 40-29 edge on the glass.

The Buccaneers jumped out early in the game, scoring the first 12 points of the contest as CSU hit their first five shots from the floor with Karlsone hitting a layup and three-pointer to give the Bucs the early lead. Brown added a three-pointer and a layup to give CSU the 12-0 lead at the 16:52 mark before Weaver put the Bulldogs on the board with a layup.

CSU held their largest lead of the half at 17-4 with 10:52 remaining in the half as Alyssa Mann connected on the three-pointer off the assist from Natasha Lebedeva. Ja'Da Brayboy started the Asheville run that went the remainder of the half by driving in for the layup at the 9:13 mark as the Bulldogs went on a 15-2 run that was capped by a layup by Gwyn at the 4:35 mark in the first half for the first tie of the contest.

Jones broke the tie with a three-pointer and continued the stretch to give the Bulldogs a 26-21 lead following a steal and layup. Christal Barnett scored the final four CSU points of the half with a pair of free throws and a layup at the 1:28 mark as the teams went into the break trailing 26-23.

The Bulldogs pushed their lead to double-digits with 11:12 remaining in the second half following a pair of Tiffany Wilson free throws to put the hosts ahead 41-31. Gwyn gave Asheville their largest lead of the contest with 8:39 remaining on a layup at 48-37 before CSU mounted their final comeback attempt.

CSU brought the game back within two possessions twice with Karlsone scoring four straight points on a layup and a pair of free throws to put the score at 48-43 with 3:10 remaining. The Bucs final opportunity came with 1:19 left on a Jarvis free throw as CSU pulled back within five at 49-44, but Asheville closed out the contest on a 7-2 run to close out the Big South win.

Bench scoring proved to be the difference in the contest as Asheville was led by Weaver's 11 points as the Bulldogs held the 25-11 advantage. CSU had a season-high eight blocked shots in the contest led by Brianna Lakes' career-high three blocks in the contest.

Charleston Southern remains on the road for the final game of their four-game road trip on Sunday afternoon as the Bucs travel to Charlotte, N.C. to take on Charlotte. Tipoff between the Bucs and the 49ers is set for 2 p.m. inside Halton Arena.