Box Score
ROCK HILL, SC--Five players scored in double figures to lead Winthrop to their third straight win with a 85-65 Big South Conference victory over Charleston Southern Thursday night at the Winthrop Coliseum.

The win improves the Eagles to 10-8 overall and 4-2 in the conference while CSU drops to 5-10 and 0-6.   The three-game win streak is the longest of the season for Winthrop and gives it a 42-29 lead over CSU in the all-time series.

Despite playing most of the second half with four fouls, Winthrop freshman center Schaquilla Nunn had her eighth double-double of the season with 12 points, including 10 in the second half, and grabbed 10 rebounds.  Diana Choibekova also collected a double-double with 15 points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds.  Samiya Wright came off the bench to lead all scorers with 19 points while  Aliyah Kilpatrick scored 17 and Dequesha McClanahan finished with 16.

The Eagles had their best shooting game of the season, especially in the first half when the 3-pointers were raining down on the Lady Buccaneers.  Winthrop connected on 6 of 13 from long distance in the opening period and finished the night with 11 of 24 from behind the arc and shot 47 percent overall (30-64).  The defensive effort was also applauded by head coach Kevin Cook as Winthrop held CSU to 28.4 percent for the game (21-74).  The Lady Bucs were 9 of 36 from long distance with Erin Bratcher accounting for five of those.  She finished the night with 17 points to lead four Lady Bucs in double figures.

Winthrop put the game out of reach early with a 18-2 run to open the game. A pair of 3-pointers by Choibekova and six points from McClanahan led the charge.  Winthrop's defense was nearly flawless as well during that stretch as the Eagles held CSU to 1 of 14 shooting in the opening six minutes of the contest..

The lead went to 19 on a fast break lay-up by Choibekova that put the Eagles up 25-6 just past the midway point of the half.  The Eagles still led by that margin at 28-9 following a three-point play by Samiya Wright at the 7:46 mark.  Winthrop pushed the lead to as many as 20 on a 3-pointer by Aliyah Kilpatrick  with 7:08 on the clock. 

The Lady Bucs, who had made just 3 of their first 19 shots, then connected on five of their next seven attempts and trimmed the deficit to 14 at 36-22 with just over four minutes left when DJ Fowler converted a three-point play.  CSU got to within 12 with 1:35 left in the half when Fowler scored on a putback in the lane, but Winthrop stretched it back to a 17-point lead at intermission after a McClanahan running jumper and Wright's second trey sent the Eagles to the locke room holding a comfortable 43-26 lead.

CSU came out in the second half and outscored Winthrop 19-9 in the first 7:16 of the second half as they connected on five treys, including three by Erin Bratcher. The Lady  Bucs got to within five at 50-45 following a free throw by Shay Jones at the 13:49 mark, but Wright  stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer to put the Eagles back up by eight at 55-47.  

A pair of free throws by Nunn and a jumper from Wright gave Winthrop a 10-point cushion at 59-49 with under 10 left in the game and the lead ballooned to 25  following a fasbreak layuop by Kilpatrick with 3:30 left in the game.

Winthrop will be home again on Saturday when it hosts Presbyterian College at 1 p.m.  Charleston Southern will travel to Radford for a 3 p.m. contest.