The College of Charleston women's basketball team scored a season-high 74 points, but gave up a season-high 86 points as the Cougars fell to cross-town rival Charleston Southern, 86-74, in front of 731 fans at the CSU Fieldhouse in North Charleston, S.C. It was the Bucs' first win over Charleston since a 55-53 decision Nov. 29, 2007, and just the ninth overall.
The Cougars led by seven in the first half, 14-7 with 14:53 on the clock, before Charleston Southern erupted for five straight three-pointers en route to a 22-2 run to take a 29-16 lead with 8:47 to go in the half. Charleston fought back with three three-pointers, including two from Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) in an 11-2 run, to cut the margin to four, 31-27, with six minutes on the clock. Charleston Southern answered, outscoring CofC 14-7 the remainder of the half to head into the locker room with the 11-point, 45-34 lead.
The College of Charleston and Charleston Southern fought back and forth in the second half but every time the Cougars cut the Buc lead to single digits, CSU had an answer, including at the 10:29 mark when Janae Smith (Matteson, Ill.) hit a three-pointer to cut the margin to three, 56-49. Kelsey Wasmer, who led all scorers with 21 points, hit a three-pointer at 9:40 to take the lead back up to 10.
Charleston got no closer than seven the rest of the game as CSU built as much as a 13-point lead before settling on the 12-point, 86-74, win. Charleston cut the lead to seven with just under a minute to go off another three-pointer by Gerty, but Charleston Southern connected on the next five of six free throws to keep the Cougars at bay.
Several career-highs dotted the box score for the Cougars, with Smith posting her first double-double with a career-high 18 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. Megan Fischer (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) led the team with a career-high 20 points off a career-best four three-pointers. Cathryn Hardy's 17 points was a career-best as well. She went a career-high 10-for-13 from the free-throw line. Jillian Brown (Midlothian, Va.) had a team-leading five assists, also a career mark.
Aside from Wasmer, three other Bucs were in double-figures, with Lakeitha Alston at 18, Kiki Rutledge at 16 and Anicia Dotson and 11. Wasmer also paced the team with seven rebounds.
The Cougars shot 40.9 percent from the field, compared to 46.6 percent for Charleston Southern. The Bucs, who hit six-of-17 three-pointers, ended the game with an eight-for-24 effort. Charleston was nine-for-24. CofC went 15-of-21 from the free throw line, while CSU was 24-for-35.
Charleston out-rebounded CSU, 41-37 and had two more turnovers, 17-15.
The Cougars continue their six-game road trip with a trek to Davidson, N.C. Jan. 3 to take on the Davidson Wildcats in Southern Conference action. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
