CHARLESTON, S.C. - South Carolina State pulled away from Charleston Southern late as the Bulldogs hit several key free throws in the overtime period as the Buccaneers fell in their home opener, 81-75.

With the score knotted up at 67-67 following a Tori Gittens three-pointer early in the extra period, the Bulldogs (1-1) turned to sharpshooter Heiaya Moton as she connected on a three-pointer from the left wing to put S.C. State ahead 70-67. From there, the Bucs (0-2) attempted to fight back with baskets by Carmella Walker and Sharita Godfrey to narrow the gap to 78-74.

S.C. State closed out the game hitting three of their last four free throw attempts with Moton converting the final two of the game to secure the Bulldogs' win.

Walker led five Buccaneers in double-digits scoring with 18 points and added eight rebounds, while Sharita Godfrey had 15 points and nine boards in the loss. Ahlea Myers had 12 points off the bench, including a pair of three-pointers, while Sha'Mya Leigh and Tori Gittens both contributed 10 points apiece.

Moton paced all scorers in the game with 31 points for the Bulldogs, including going 7-of-17 from the three-point line in the win. Taylor Brown added 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Jacquece Alston had 11 points and eight boards.
 
Quarter Breakdowns
First Quarter – CSU 17, SCSU 13
Charleston Southern utilized a late stretch over the final three minutes of the opening quarter to open the game up and take a 17-13 lead. With the score tied at 8-8, the Bucs went on a 9-3 run with Myers, Godfrey, and Leigh all hitting jumpers, before Myers drilled her first three-pointer to put the score at 17-11 with 1:28 remaining in the quarter.

Second Quarter – CSU 37, SCSU 34
Tori Gittens connected on the first five points of the quarter to put the Bucs ahead 22-13, before S.C. State battled their way back into the game. CSU's lead hit nine points on three separate occasions in the quarter with the last coming at 34-25 following a Tyra Wright free throw. From there, S.C. State connected on a trio of late three-pointers with Alson and Moton (twice) both connecting to send the game into the break at 37-34 in favor of the Bucs.

Third Quarter – CSU 48, SCSU 46
The two teams kept the game within two possessions throughout the third quarter with CSU's largest lead of the quarter coming at 44-38 following a Walker layup. S.C. State brought the game all the way back to within one point at 44-43 with 3:02 remaining in the quarter on a pair of Chrisana Scott free throws. The Bucs rallied back with jumpers from Myers and Godfrey to hold onto the lead heading into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter – CSU 64, SCSU 64
CSU held the 63-56 lead with 2:38 remaining in the game before a late S.C. State run sent the game into overtime. Following a Walker free throw conversion, Moton and Zeleria Simpson cut CSU's lead down to 63-60 with 1:40 to play with a pair of jumpers. Godfrey made one of two free throws late to put the Bucs ahead 64-62 with 39 seconds remaining. Simpson drilled a jumper on the ensuing possession to tie the game up and send it into overtime.

Overtime – SCSU 81, CSU 75
Moton and Gittens traded three-pointers to start the extra period to put the score at 67-67 early in the contest. The Bulldogs took the lead for good on Moton's second three-pointer of the overtime frame and went up by as many as seven points following a pair of Brown free throws with 28 seconds remaining to put the score at 76-69. The Bucs cut it down to three points on a Walker layup, but free throws from Brown and Moton closed out the game for the Bulldogs.

Inside the Numbers

• CSU shot 42.4% from the floor (28-of-66) and 40.0% (6-of-15) from the three-point line on Saturday afternoon.
• The Bucs were 54.2% from the free throw line in the loss with CSU hitting 13-of-24 attempts from the stripe.
• S.C. State held the 49-43 rebounding advantage in the game.
• The Bulldogs hit 39.2% (29-of-74) from the floor and 26.7% (8-of-30) from behind the three-point line.
• CSU won the turnover battle forcing 17 Bulldog turnovers while only coughing the ball up 14 times.
• Five CSU players were in double-digit scoring on Saturday paced by Walker's 18 points
• Walker (eight) and Godfrey (nine) narrowly missed out on the first double-doubles at CSU in the contest.

News & Notes

• Saturday's game marked Tori Gittens' starting debut in the CSU women's basketball lineup.
• GIttens, Leigh, Walker, and Godfrey all posted their first collegiate double-digit scoring efforts for the Bucs.
• Sharita Godfrey played a career-high 40 minutes in the game.

Up Next
Charleston Southern heads back on the road on Friday, November 15, as CSU travels to Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, N.C. to take on North Carolina in non-conference action. Tipoff between the Bucs and the Tar Heels is set for 5 p.m. on the ACC Network Extra.