CHARLESTON, S.C. - A late Charleston Southern comeback attempt fell short as the Buccaneers were unable to overcome the UNC Asheville second-half lead in the 65-58 loss on Saturday evening inside the Buccaneer Field House.

Trailing 52-38 with 6:48 remaining in the contest, CSU (6-6, 4-4 Big South) went on a 12-0 run sparked by a pair of Sharita Godfrey three-pointers to narrow the UNC Asheville (5-6, 4-2 Big South) lead down to two points. Makenna Winans and Alyssia Faye both chipped in four points apiece during the stretch to cut the Asheville lead down to 52-50 with 3:33 left in the game.

The Bulldogs bounced back with five consecutive points as Amaryah Corpening ended the Bucs' stretch with a three-pointer and Abigail Wilson converted a layup to stretch it back to a two-possession game. The Bucs narrowed the gap down to five points on two separate occasions with the last coming with five seconds remaining as Godfrey found Tori Gittens for a breakaway layup to cut the gap to 63-58.

Faith Adams converted the final free throws for the Bulldogs to secure the season split between the conference rivals.

Faye paced four Buccaneers in double-digits with a team-high 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting and added eight rebounds in the contest. Makenna Winans added 11 points and eight boards, while Godfrey (10) and Gittens (10) were also in double-digits in the loss.

Asheville's Nadiria Evans paced all players with a game-high 20 points in the contest, aided by a 12-of-19 mark from the free throw line. Kai Carter added 16 points and six rebounds, while Corpening was also in double-digits with 10 points.
 
First Quarter
All five of Charleston Southern's starters were in the scoring column paced by Gittens' five points as the Buccaneers and Bulldogs fought their way through the opening quarter. CSU went up 9-4 following a 7-0 run sparked by a Gittens' three-pointer to hold the five-point lead at the 5:40 mark. Asheville responded with a 7-0 run of their own to retake the lead with Carter scoring five points over the stretch. Faye tied the game up at 13-13 with 56 seconds remaining in the quarter, but Evans pushed the pace and recorded a short jumper just before the buzzer to give Asheville the 15-13 lead at the quarter break.

Second Quarter
Tyra Wright scored six of CSU's 12 points in the quarter to pace the Bucs as the sophomore forward took over the contest for a three-minute span. The Bucs led 19-15 following a Wright three-point play at the 7:55 mark for their largest lead of the quarter. Asheville put together a five-point swing to retake the lead on a Carter free throw at the 5:38 mark and her three-pointer at the 4:14 mark put the Bulldogs ahead 23-21. The Bucs and Bulldogs were tied up twice over the next two minutes at 23-23 and 25-25, but Evans swung the advantage back to Asheville with four points over the final 65 seconds to send the Bulldogs into the break leading 29-25.

Third Quarter
Carter connected on an early three-pointer to stretch the Asheville lead out to 32-25 at the beginning of the second half, before the Bucs rallied back to make it a one-possession game. Makenna Winans converted her lone three-pointer of the contest and Gittens gathered the offensive rebound and the put-back to make it a 32-30 contest with 7:28 left in the quarter. Asheville held the advantage throughout the remainder of the fourth quarter with the Bulldogs going ahead by nine following a Corpering three-pointer at the 1:40 mark. Janaia Fargo cut the Asheville lead down to 45-38 with the final score of the quarter to send the game into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter
Charleston Southern launched a furious comeback in the fourth quarter with the Bucs utilizing a 12-0 run over a three-minute span to cut a 14-point deficit down to a 52-50 contest with 3:33 remaining. CSU kept it close late in the contest, but UNC Asheville went 8-for-10 from the free throw line down the stretch with Evans, Adams, and Carter all converting to secure the 65-58 win.

CSU Key Players

• Alyssia Faye – 13 points, eight rebounds, 6-of-11 FG, one assist
• Makenna Winans – 11 points, eight rebounds, three steals, one blocked shot
• Sharita Godfrey – 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals
• Tori Gittens – 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, one blocked shot
• Janaia Fargo – Six points, two assists, one steal
• Tyra Wright – Six points, 2-of-4 FG, 1-of-1 3PT, one rebound

Inside the Statistics

• Charleston Southern shot 39.0% (23-of-59) from the floor, 31.3% (5-of-16) from the three-point line, and 63.6% (7-of-11) from the free throw line in the loss.
• UNC Asheville shot 35.0% (21-of-60) from the floor, 26.1% (6-of-23) from the three-point line, and 63.0% (17-of-27) from the free throw line in the win.
• The Bulldogs held the 41-40 rebounding edge in the game, but CSU held the 13-6 second-chance points advantage.
• UNC Asheville took advantage of 16 CSU turnovers to hold the 18-9 edge in points off turnovers.
• CSU held the 30-22 advantage on points in the paint and 8-6 edge in bench points.

News & Notes

• Saturday evening marked the third consecutive game the Buccaneers had four players score double-digits in a contest as Faye (13), Winans (11), Godfrey (10), and Gittens (10) all hit the mark in the contest.
• Faye was in double-digits for the sixth time this season.
• Winans hit the double-digit mark for the third time this year.
• Godfrey scored double-digits for the seventh time this season and fifth in the last six games.
• Gittens was in double-digits for the first time this season and fifth of her career.
• CSU moves to 32-40 all-time in the series against UNC Asheville
• The Bucs' loss ends CSU's three-game regular season winning streak against UNC Asheville and the first win for the Bulldogs inside the Buccaneer Field House since January 23, 2018.
• CSU has recorded at least 40 rebounds in back-to-back games.

Up Next
Charleston Southern is scheduled to host Campbell next weekend inside the Buccaneer Field House on January 22-23 in a two-game series. Friday night's tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.