CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern is back home for the 2019-20 Big South home opener on New Year's Eve as the Buccaneers welcome Gardner-Webb to the Buccaneer Field House for a mid-afternoon showdown. Tipoff between CSU and the Runnin' Bulldogs is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Bucs (2-8, 0-1 Big South) are looking to shake off a tough non-conference slate and a loss in their Big South opener this past Saturday to USC Upstate as CSU heads into the home opener against the Runnin' Bulldogs. CSU boasted a 9-7 record at home inside the Buccaneer Field House last season, including a win in their last matching against GWU, a 66-58 victory, back on February 26.

CSU utilized its senior leadership last season on their way to picking up the home win over the Runnin' Bulldogs. Then-freshman guard Ahlea Myers played a game-high 38 minutes and chipped in three assists and nine points, while Tierra Steede added four points and five boards in the win.

The Bucs are looking to continue their recent home winning trend as CSU picked up wins in two of their last three home games prior to the December break. CSU posted wins over Virginia University of Lynchburg (92-55), and Columbia (S.C.) (76-59), while falling in their pre-Christmas matchup to College of Charleston, 79-70.

In their last game prior to the New Year's Eve matchup, CSU was unable to hold off a second-half run at USC Upstate on Saturday afternoon. A 13-0 run spanned the third and fourth quarters helped the host Spartans pull away from CSU in the Big South opener for both teams in the 70-53 loss to USC Upstate.

Ahlea Myers posted a season-high 16 points as the sophomore guard hit 4-of-7 three-pointers from the field on her way to pacing the Bucs in the loss. Tori Gittens added a trio of three-pointers in the first half on her way to posting a season-high 11 points, while Tierra Steede had nine points and five rebounds for CSU.

Myers' 16 points and four three-pointers tied her career-high set last season in the Bucs loss to Georgia. She made the most of her time off the bench finishing second on the team with 28 minutes, while converting 4-of-8 from the field and 4-of-7 from the three-point line.

The double-digit scoring contributions by Myers and Gittens were a welcome sight to the Bucacneers offensive attack this season as CSU boasts four additional players capable of putting up 10-or-more points in a single game this season. The duo are also tied for the team lead in three-pointers made this season with Sharita Godfrey as the Bucs connected on a season-high eight shots from behind the arc against Gardner-Webb.

Tierra Steede leads all CSU scorers on the season with 16.7 points per game after making her season debut in CSU's win over Columbia (S.C.). The senior forward has connected on 52.8% (19-of-36) of her shots from the field, while adding an impressive 83.3% (10-of-12) mark from the free throw line. Her 5.7 rebounds per game are also second on the team this season.

Sharita Godfrey (10.5) and Carmella Walker (10.4) are also averaging over double-digits scoring per game with the duo sitting among just six Buccaneers players to play in all 10 games this year.

Godfrey has made the transition to the bench and continues to light up the scoreboard in a sixth-man role with seven double-digit scoring games, including four of her last five. She's also posted six games with at least eight rebounds this season, including back-to-back nine board efforts against Columbia (S.C.) and College of Charleston.

Walker is one of two Bucacneers to start all 10 games this season as the junior college transfer has shown off her offensive and defensive prowess on the court. Walker has scored double-digits in five games, including a season-high 18 against South Carolina State, while added at least two steals in nine of the 10 games played this year.

Freshman guard Sha'Mya Leigh is the second Buccaneer to start all 10 games this season as the Dayton, Ohio native has proven to be an adept attacker on the offensive side of the ball. Leigh scored a career-high 11 points against Western Carolina, while adding multiple assists in eight of the 10 games this season.

Tuesday afternoon's matchup features the fifth and ninth-ranked teams in the Big South preseason standings. Gardner-Webb was picked fifth overall in the poll and earned 86 points overall, while CSU was picked ninth after receiving 32 votes.

The Runnin' Bulldogs enter the game with a 5-5 overall record, including a 0-1 mark in conference play after dropping an 80-70 loss at Longwood this past Saturday. Gardner-Webb is toward the tail-end of a five-game road trip after topping Mercer (65-62, Dec. 20) prior to the break, while falling at Georgia (56-84, Dec. 22) and Longwood (70-80, Dec. 28). GWU continues to trip on Saturday afternoon with a showdown at Hampton.

Gardner-Webb is 2-4 away from home this season with wins at Appalachian State and Mercer, while falling to  Charlotte, Virginia Tech, Georgia, and Longwood. GWU has also picked up home wins against Chowan, Wofford, and Western Carolina.

Senior guard Carley Plentovich earned Big South preseason First team honors this year after a strong 2018-19 campaign. The Clearwater, Fla. native led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 14.0 points per game last season and surpassed the 30-point mark twice, while also finishing among the conference leaders in free throw percentage and steals per game.

Once again, Plentovich leads the Runnin' Bulldogs this season as the senior guard paces GWU in points per game (14.4), field goal percentage (42.5%), three-pointers (25), and three-point percentage (46.3%). She is currently on an eight-game double-digit scoring stretch with at least 15 points in seven of the last eight games.

Twin sister Savannah Plentovich is also averaging double-digits scoring per game this season with 12.7 points, while adding a team-high 33 assists on the year. She is also second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game and boasts a GWU-best 23 steals.

Jhessyka Williams leads GWU with 5.6 rebounds per game, while Alexis Hueston and Gabriel Caponegro are leading the team with nine blocks on the season.

Up Next
Charleston Southern is back on the road on Saturday, January 4, as the Buccaneers make the trip to the Dedmon Center and Big South preseason favorite Radford for a 2 p.m. showdown on ESPN+.