OGDEN, UTAH – The College of Charleston women's basketball team pulled off a gutsy win Wednesday and held on down the stretch with clutch free-throw shooting to defeat the Weber State Wildcats (2-1) 50-42 and rise to 2-1 on the year.

Though not the statistical leader in any one category, Courtney Gardner was the player of the game for the Cougars. The junior came off the bench early and provided a spark in all phases of the game, particularly down low in the paint. On the night, she matched career-highs in both points (10) and blocks (1) while adding two steals and three rebounds. She was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line.

“Courtney came in extremely focused,” head coach Candice M. Jackson said. “She played some big minutes and was a really big spark for us off the bench, and that's what we've been looking for from her both last year and this year.”

The game was remarkably close for the vast majority of the game, and the final score didn't reflect just how tight the game was. At no point outside of the final minute of the game did either team have a lead of more than six points. The somewhat lopsided final was due to Weber State putting the Cougars into the bonus at the midway point of the fourth, allowing the Cougars to ride the momentum of free throws to build a lead and force the Wildcats into late desperate shots.

Breanna Bolden led the Cougars in scoring for the third game in a row this season with 12 points, adding seven boards and three steals. She has now scored double-digit points in the last 15 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak among CAA student-athletes.

Jackie Luna-Castro had yet another strong outing with her parents in attendance, scoring ten points and pulling down eight rebounds, two assists, three blocks and a steal. Nola Henry also came up big with seven points and seven rebounds, and would have had two more points had her buzzer-beating shot to close out the third quarter actually beaten the buzzer.

As a team, the Cougars continued their strong free-throw shooting by going 16-of-20 from the line, out-classing the Wildcats output (6-of-12).  In addition, while the College was not incredibly effective from the field (35.4%), Weber State struggled more-so (26.3%). Every other significant statistical matchup was more or less equal.

“I saw tremendous fight from our team,” Jackson said. “It was a very ugly game where we turned the ball over entirely too much and committed too many fouls. But I saw the resilience in the team in the way that they just kept pushing through.”

The Cougars will now fly back out east for one final game on this three-game road-trip. They will head up to Blacksburg Va. this Sunday to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies (2-1).