GREENVILLE, S.C. – Despite having a halftime lead, the Charleston Southern women's basketball team could not overcome a strong defensive showing from the Furman Paladins, as they fell to 3-8 on the season with a 58-42 defeat on Sunday afternoon. The game was played in Hayes Gymnasium on the campus of North Greenville University.

Furman (8-3) outscored Charleston Southern 36-17 while shooting 51.9% from the field in the second half. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers (3-8) shot just 29% from the field in the third and fourth quarters.
The Paladins took their first lead of the afternoon with 4:18 left in the third quarter, as eight Buccaneer turnovers led to Furman's resurgence. An offensive rebound for the Paladins led to a three-point basket to make it 31-29.

 After beginning the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run, the Paladins pushed their lead to 51-36 by forcing a turnover and taking it the other way for a layup with 5:40 left to go in the fourth quarter. Shimei Muhammad cut the deficit to nine points with a steal and a layup with 3:37 left in the game; however, those were the last points the Buccaneers scored, as they went the final three and a half minutes without scoring a basket.

The Buccaneers led for most of the first half and were ahead by as many as seven points in the second quarter, when Caelan Ellis knocked down a three pointer with 2:27 to go in the first half to make it 25-18. Charleston Southern started out strong, racing out to a 7-1 lead through the first five minutes. The Paladins went the first four minutes and 20 seconds without making a field goal.

Caelan Ellis made her first career start for Charleston Southern and was the leading scorer for the Buccaneers, finishing with 10 points in a career-high 26 minutes. She was the only player for Charleston Southern to score in double figures, as Saniya Jones was next in line with eight points.

Up Next
The Buccaneers will have a nine-day break, as they do not play again until December 17, when they make the drive to Orangeburg, S.C. to take on South Carolina State. Tipoff will be at 6:30 PM.