The Charleston Southern women's basketball team fell to 2-10 on the season as they dropped their conference opener to the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs on Thursday evening at the Buc Dome. The final score was 86-65.

First Half
The Bulldogs (9-4, 1-0 in conference) jumped out to a 21-8 lead in the first quarter. A three-pointer in the mid-way through the first quarter made it 11-2 in favor of Gardner-Webb. The Bucs (2-10, 0-1 in conference) cut the Bulldog lead to 13-8 towards the end of the quarter; however, the Bulldogs finished the quarter on a 6-0 run.

In the second quarter, the Bulldogs found their stroke, scoring 27 points to only 18 for the Buccaneers. They started the half on a 19-3 run to push the lead to 40-16, which would be the highest that the lead stretched to in the first half. The Bucs were able to get a few baskets from Kennedi Jackson at the end of the half, as the Bulldogs took a 21-point lead to the locker room. 

Second Half
The second half was better for the Buccaneers, as they outscored the Bulldogs by one point in the third and fourth quarters. They were able to score the first five points of the half with a three-point shot by Jazmine Jackson. That followed by a big run by Gardner Webb, who saw their lead stretch to 29 points in the third quarter. The Bucs answered with an 8-0 run to close out the third quarter with a pair of three-point field goals. Both teams scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and were able find success from beyond the arc. 

Standouts
Catherine Alben led the Bucs with 16 points on the night. She was 7/13 from the field, including 1/3 from the three-point line. Jackson was right behind her with 12 points.and 10 rebounds, finishing with a double-double. Zaire Hicks and Sha'Mya Leigh both finished with nine points.Carleigh Andrews made her first career start on Thursday and finished with four points and two rebounds in 17 minutes. Charleston Southern shot just under 50% from the three point line (6/14), but they turned the ball over 24 times. 

Next Up
The Bucs are back in action this Saturday as they go on the road to face the USC Upstate Spartans at 3 p.m. looking for their first conference win. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.