Box Score
ROCK HILL, SC—Dequesha McClanahan paced four players in double-figures with 19 points as Winthrop opened up its Big South Conference schedule with a convincing 75-53 victory over Charleston Southern, Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum.
Leading 56-49 with 10:58 left in the game, Winthrop outscored Charleston Southern 19-4 the remainder of the game as it cruised to its fifth straight win. It was also the fifth straight home win over the Buccaneers and the second time this season Winthrop has held a team under four points for the final 10 minutes of the game.
Defensively the Lady Eagles held Charleston Southern to just 3-for-14 shooting over the final 10 and a half minutes and forced six turnovers. Offensively Winthrop finished the final 10 minutes 7-for-11 from the field and 3-for-5 from the foul line.
Kelsey Wasmer hit a three to cut the lead seven points after Winthrop went ahead by 11 with 13:05 left. Lakesha Alston scored four straight points before Lacey Lyons connected on a three, only to be answered by Wasmer for three to bring the lead back down to single digits.
The run started on a hustle play by Kaitlyn Rubino as she boarded a miss and then jumped up as if she was going to shoot a short jumper, but then dished it to a wide open Lyons for the easy two. An old fashioned three-point play by Ashley Cox made it 63-49 with 7:57 left and that was followed up by a Rubino jumper in the lane. The lead extended to 20 points after Tiffany Charles got all the way to the hoop for a lay-up with 4:20 remaining.
The Lady Eagles opened the second half with a 13-4 run, highlighted by seven straight points from McClanahan.
Winthrop opened with seven straight points and held a 9-3 lead 4:31 into the game as Ashley Cox started it with a six-foot jumper outside of the lane and a straight on three by Mary Hathaway. McClanahan made it 9-3 after a driving lay-in.
CSU fought back with eight straight points for an 11-9 lead with 12:26 left in the first half. The lead didn't last long as Lyons drilled a three from the wing for a 12-11 lead. From that point the teams traded leads nine times until Winthrop's Hathaway drilled a three for a 26-25 lead with 7:35 remaining. That basket started an 11-2 run for Winthrop to open up a seven point lead with just under three minutes remaining.
Lydia Johnson made a short jumper in the lane with 1:52 left that was followed by a Wasmer three on the next possession to cut the lead back down to two points before the half as the Lady Eagles led 34-32 at the break. The first half saw 12 lead changes and five ties.
Winthrop finished the game shooting a season-best 56 percent, while Charleston Southern shot 33 percent.
In addition to her 19 points, McClanahan also dished out five assists and had two steals. TaQuoia Hammick came off the bench to provide a spark in the second half as she finished with a season-high 12 points and also pulled down nine rebounds. Hathaway chipped in with 11 points, three assists and two steals while Rubino had 10 points. Lyons finished with a team-best six assists.
Katie Tull led the Buccaneers with 13 points and three steals while Wasmer had 12 points and eight rebounds. Alston chipped in with 11 points.
The 75 points are the third most ever scored by Winthrop in a conference opener, with the 1989 team having the record at 78 against Baptist College (Charleston Southern).
Charleston Southern will return to action on Monday as it remains on the road when it takes on Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m. Winthrop will remain at home as it faces Gardner-Webb on Monday at 7 p.m.
