CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern looks ahead to a big conference weekend as the Buccaneers welcome UNC Asheville to the Buccaneer Field House for a two-game series on January 15-16. Tipoff for Friday's game is set for 7 p.m., while Saturday's game is set for 5 p.m. Both games will be carried live on ESPN+.
Game One – Friday, January 15
- Charleston Southern (5-5, 3-3 Big South) vs. UNC Asheville (4-5, 3-1 Big South)
- 7 p.m. * Charleston, S.C. * Buccaneer Field House
- Game Notes | Live Stats | ESPN+
Game Two – Saturday, January 16
- Charleston Southern (5-5, 3-3 Big South) vs. UNC Asheville (4-5, 3-1 Big South)
- 5 p.m. * Charleston, S.C. * Buccaneer Field House
- Game Notes | Live Stats | ESPN+
Series History
UNC Asheville leads the all-time series over the Bucs, 39-31, with the Buccaneers sweeping the 2019-20 contests last season, while the Bulldogs took the conference first round matchup in the postseason tournament. The series dates back to the 1978-79 season, however records are incomplete and no decision is known for that contest.
Last Five Contests
- Mar. 10, 2020 – UNC Asheville won, 82-46
- Feb. 18, 2020 – Charleston Southern won 56-54
- Jan. 14, 2020 – Charleston Southern won 60-48
- Mar. 2, 2019 – UNC Asheville won 62-45
- Feb. 5, 2019 – Charleston Southern won 70-59
Charleston Southern has taken over the back-and-forth series between the Bucs and the Bulldogs with CSU winning three of the last five contests, as well as three of the last four in the Buccaneer Field House. The Bucs win back in the 2016-17 season in Charleston snapped a six-game losing streak in the series.
During the 2019-20 regular season, CSU alum
Tierra Steede scored nine points over the fourth quarter and
Sharita Godfrey was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line down the stretch in the Bucs' 60-48 win at UNC Asheville. In the rematch in February, the Bucs went on an 11-2 run over a five-minute span in the second half with
Tyra Wright hitting a key three-pointer to secure the 56-54 win.
The Bulldogs took the postseason contest in Asheville in one of the final games played in the 2019-20 season. UNC Asheville jumped out to the quick start in the contest and built an early double-digit lead on their way to the 82-46 win in the 2020 Hercules Tires Big South Women's Basketball Championships.
Buccaneers among the nation's elite from the three-point line
Through 10 games in the 2020-21 season, the Charleston Southern women's basketball team boasts one of the elite shooting units in the NCAA Division I as the Buccaneers lead the Big South in field goal percentage and three-point percentage, as well as sitting among the national leaders behind the arc.
The Bucs have posted six different games with at least a 40.0% team field goal percentage on the season and six contests with at least a 40.0% three-point percentage on the year as CSU continues its offensive resurgence under Head CoachÂ
Fred Applin. For the season, CSU enters the weekend sitting 12th overall in the NCAA in team three-point percentage at 39.3%. The mark is more than six points higher than High Point (33.2%) in the conference standings and leaves the Bucs just .03% from entering the top-10 in the NCAA.
Buccaneers swept by Gardner-Webb in Big South Conference weekend matchup
Gardner-Webb utilized a double-digit run in the fourth quarter to hold off host Charleston Southern in the opener on Saturday afternoon, 75-62. The Bucs shot 43.5% percent from the floor and 41.2% from the three-point line in the loss thanks to
Janaia Fargo's career-high 16 points, but the Runnin' Bulldogs took advantage of 27 CSU turnovers on their way to scoring 28 points in picking up the conference win.
Charleston Southern was unable to overcome a third-quarter Gardner-Webb scoring surge as the Buccaneers fell at home in the series finale to the Runnin' Bulldogs, 68-59.
Sharita Godfrey scored 19 points and
Makenna Winans narrowly missed out on her first collegiate double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds, but GWU rallied with a 22-6 stretch in the third quarter on their way to the win.
UNC Asheville back on the court following two-week hiatus
UNC Asheville is scheduled to be back in action this week for the first time in 2021 since sweeping Longwood on December 30-31. The Bulldogs were paced by Nadiria Evans' 34-point mark as the senior became the 22nd UNC Asheville women's basketball player to score 1,000 career points in leading the Lancers to the 74-69 win.
Kai Carter scored a career-high 26 points and added 14 rebounds to help lead the Bulldogs to the sweep over the Lancers, 68-52. Carter was 6-of-8 from the three-point line in the win and pace Asheville to a strong third-quarter run in taking the key conference win.
Bucs against the Big South
No surprises when it comes to conference play for the Buccaneers as Charleston Southern has faced off with each Big South team on multiple occasions throughout the years. The inaugural matchup between the Bucs and a Big South opponent came back in the 1977-78 season when CSU fell to the Winthrop Eagles, 73-52.
- Campbell (5-37)
- Gardner-Webb (6-18)
- Hampton (4-3)
- High Point (14-32)
- Longwood (11-10)
- Presbyterian (14-16)
- Radford (18-56)
- UNC Asheville (31-39)
- USC Upstate (5-10)
- Winthrop (34-39)
Charleston Southern was picked 10th overall in the conference's preseason poll as voted on by the coaches prior to the Big South Media Day. UNC Asheville was selected seventh overall with Nadiria Evans earning First Team All-Conference honors.
At the time of this writing, UNC Asheville is currently second overall in the conference standings with a 3-1 record, while the Bucs are tied for sixth with a 3-3 mark in conference play.
Make It Rain
Charleston Southern has been lights out on the offensive side of the ball this season as the Buccaneers lead the Big South Conference in field goal percentage and three-point percentage on the season. Overall as a team, the Bucs are shooting 41.4% from the floor as a unit, while hitting 39.3% from behind the arc on the year.
Big South FG% Leaders
- Charleston Southern – 41.4%
- High Point – 40.5%
- UNC Asheville – 37.5%
Big South 3PT% Leaders
- Charleston Southern – 39.3%
- High Point – 33.2%
- Campbell – 33.1%
About the Bucs
CSU utilized just its third and fourth starting lineups of the 2020-21 season this season as the Buccaneers hosted Gardner-Webb this past weekend. For the season, six different players have earned starting nods from head coach
Fred Applin on the season.
The Bucs are coming off back-to-back losses to Gardner-Webb to fall to 3-3 overall in Big South Conference play. For the weekend, the Bucs shot 45.6% (41-of-90) from the floor and 48.0% (12-of-25) from the three-point line in the pair of losses to the Runnin' Bulldogs, while
Sharita Godfrey and
Carmella Walker averaged double-digit points over the two games.
CSU Leaders per game
About the Bulldogs
UNC Asheville has posted a 4-5 record over the 2020-21 season with wins over Western Carolina, High Point, and a conference sweep over Longwood. Asheville fell in nonconference matchups to Appalachian State, Wofford, Florida, South Carolina State, and High Point.
Nadiria Evans leads the Big South with 20.9 points per game and a 55.8% field goal percentage, while Kai Carter is also among the conference leaders in points (14.8), rebounds (8.0), and three-point percentage (38.6%). The Bulldogs are third in the conference in scoring offense (61.8 ppg).
UNC Asheville Leaders per game
- Scoring – Nadiria Evans (20.9)
- Rebounding – Kai Carter (8.0)
- Assists – Nadiria Evans (2.4)
- Steals – Amaryah Corpening (1.3)
- Blocks – Amaryah Corpening (0.3)
- Three-Pointers – Kai Carter (2.4)
Upcoming Schedule
The Bucs continue the 2020-21 season with six of the next 10 games at home. The Bucs will travel to Radford (Jan. 9-10), before hosting UNC Asheville (Jan. 15-16) and Campbell (Jan. 22-23) to highlight the early portion of their January schedule. CSU will travel to Winthrop to close out the month, before returning home to welcome High Point on February 5-6.
- Jan. 22-23 vs. Campbell – 7 p.m., 6 p.m.
- Jan. 29-30 at Winthrop – 6 p.m., 4 p.m.
- Feb. 5-6 vs. High Point – 7 p.m., 6 p.m.
- Feb. 12-13 at Longwood – 6 p.m., 6 p.m.
- Feb. 26-27 at USC Upstate – 6 p.m., 4 p.m.
