Kim Mestdagh took the final shot for Colorado State on its final possession, but her turnaround jumper from 15-feet was off to the side and Winthrop boarded the miss.
Kaitlyn Rubino hit a three with 1:48 remaining in the game to put Winthrop (6-6) up five points. After a timeout, Colorado State came out and set up Thompson with a look for three and she drained it to cut the lead to two.
Freshman Sam Martin hit a baseline jumper to tie the game at 51-51 with 2:33 to play. TaQuoia Hammick made two free throws to go up by two points again, 53-51, with two minutes and 11 seconds left.
Ashley Cox scored on the Lady Eagles first possession of the second half for a five point Winthrop lead, but Colorado State answered with back-to-back-to-back threes to get back into the lead, 33-29. McClanahan came right back with a basket as she got all the way to the rim for a lay-up and then tied the game after two free throws. After forcing a turnover, Mary Hathaway drilled a three for a 38-35 lead.
Mestdagh stayed hot as she hit a three with 13:15 left for a 41-40 lead, only to see Winthrop respond with a triple of its own as Lacey Lyons hit a three off a kick out pass from Hammick. Hathaway made it a four point lead after she knocked down a pair of free throws with 11:14 remaining.
Once again Mestdagh kept CSU in the game with another three to make it 45-44, but the Lady Eagles extended the lead back to four points after a Hammick follow and a jumper from the free throw line for a 49-45 lead. The lead extended to six points after Cox rebounded a miss by Tiffany Charles on a fast break and put it back for a 51-45 advantage.
The game was back and forth right out of the gate as Colorado State scored the first basket of the game on a lay-up by Mestdagh off an offensive rebound. Winthrop responded with a 7-2 run for a 7-4 lead as Hathaway converted a three-point play with a drive to the lane. Amber Makeever put CSU back in front at 9-7 as she hit a three from the wing out of the media timeout. McClanahan tied the game at 9-9 as she made an easy lay-in after a steal.
Winthrop led 13-12 until Mestdagh hit a three in transition with 8:03 left in the first half. That was answered by a straight away three from Rubino for a 16-15 lead. McClanahan made it 18-15 after two free throws to tie Winthrop's largest lead of the half.
Mestdagh's second trey of the half put the Rams ahead 20-18, but Winthrop came right back to make it 20-20 with 4:47 left as Cox knocked down two free throws.
Despite shooting just 27 percent from the floor in the first half, Winthrop was able to hold a 27-24 lead. McClanahan hit a three as the shot clock expired with 1:26 left to put Winthrop ahead. The Lady Eagles held the lead five different times in the first half and there were a total of nine lead changes. Colorado State shot 39 percent from the floor, but committed 15 turnovers, which Winthrop turned into 11 points.
Mestdagh scored a game-high 27 points as she was 10-for-19 from the field and 7-for-14 from three. Thompson finished with nine points, five rebounds and three assists.
McClanahan scored 19 points on 6-for-14 shooting, including 6-for-6 form the foul line. Cox chipped in with 10 points and nine rebounds while Hathaway finished with nine points.
Winthrop will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 8 when it hosts Charleston Southern at 4:30 p.m. in its Big South Conference opener. The game will be part of a double-header with the men's team, who will face Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m.
