CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Despite a pair of career nights from two of its upperclassmen, the College of Charleston women's basketball team (4-3) was overwhelmed Tuesday, falling 89-61 to the Charlotte 49ers (6-3).

Breanna Bolden eclipsed her career-high of six steals to paw away seven passes, tying her for the third-highest single-game tally in CofC Division I history. The junior was also the team-leader in both points (18) and rebounds (7) on a 6-of-13 shooting night.

Redshirt senior Jackie Luna-Castro wasn't far behind Bolden, securing career-highs in both points (17) and steals (5), going a highly efficient 7-of-14 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

“I'm very proud of both their efforts,” head coach Candice M. Jackson said. “Jackie didn't have the best first half, but really came out aggressive in the second half. And Bre was strong for us like we need her to be every single game. The problem is we can't just have two people ready to go with that intensity, so we've got to get everybody else to come along.”

The College held things tight through the first period with only a 19-16 deficit, but things began to slip away in the second. That was in large part due to the 49ers controlling a 25-14 rebounding edge in the half, and converting all seven of their free throw attempts, compared to CofC going 0-of-2 from the line. CofC wouldn't recover, proceeding to be outscored in each quarter.

The Cougars nearly doubled the 49ers' takeaways, logging 15 all off the fingertips of Bolden, Luna-Castro and sophomore guard Shiclasia Brown, who tallied three of her own. In addition, CofC managed to hang with a strong shooting performance from outside by Charlotte, as each team shot 50% from deep. However, the rebounding discrepancy (30 vs. 48) coupled with the 49ers nearly doubling up on The College in assists (21 vs. 11) spelled defeat for the Cougars.

“Our rebounding and assists need to improve, as well as our free throw shooting,” Jackson said. “As far as the assists go, that's symptomatic of us not hitting open shots. We had a lot of open looks that we just didn't convert. It's a few things we need to fix, and luckily we have a nice stretch here to do that.”

Alexis Alexander led the way for the 49ers, hitting game-highs in both points and rebound to pull off the 21-12 double-double.

The Cougars will have over a week off due to exams, after which they return to the friendly confines of TD Arena, where they are currently undefeated. They'll kick off a three-game home-stand on Friday, Dec 18 against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (4-2).