Box Score
ROCK HILL, SC--Winthrop got double-double performances from Dequesha McClanahan and Schaquilla Nunn and shot a season-high 53 percent from the floor as the Eagles captured their fourth straight Big South Conference victory with a 78-50 win over Presbyterian College Saturday afternoon in the Winthrop Coliseum.

McClanahan scored a season-high 25 points and dished out 10 assists while Nunn finished the game with 10 points, a season-high 17 rebounds and blocked seven shots to help Winthrop improve to 11-8 overall and 5-2 in the Big South.  The double-double was Nunn's third straight and ninth of the season. PC, which came into the game tied for first place in the conference, drops to 11-8 and 6-2.

The game was tight through the first 10 minutes as Winthrop led 20-19, but a 15-0 run led by McClanahan, Nunn and Taylor Calvert put the Eagles up 35-19 with 3:40 left in the first half. Winthrop had its best first half shooting performance in many years as the Eagles connected on 63 percent from the floor (17-27) to build a 40-25 lead at the break.  Many of the Eagle baskets came inside as McClanahan had six assists in the first half alone.  Winthrop scored 26 of its 40 first half points in the paint.

Nunn nearly had a double-double in the first half as she scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds to go along with five blocked shots.  She set the defensive tone early for Winthrop as she blocked the first two shots that PC attempted.

"What more can you say about her performance," said Winthrop head coach Kevin Cook.  "The was a presence on the defensive end and she keeps you honest on the offensive end and is very efficient.  I thought she was a stablizer for us defensively, but we moved very, very well with Taylor Calvert pitching in, and Dequesha once again is putting it all together.  When she plays like she has for the past four games, it makes us very tough to beat."

Cook called the victory a super team win. "It was as locked in as we have been all season and we followed the game plan to a T.  My hat's off to this group and I am really proud of them.  I now think we have turned the corner and we need to go out of the road and maintain some consistency."

After its hot first half, Winthrop cooled off to start the second period as the Eagles connected on just 3 of its first 12 shots, but PC wasn't much better going 3 of 10.  The Blue Hose could not get any closer than 15 when Shonda Burnside's layup got PC to within 44-29 with 17:20 left in the game.

Winthrop then heated up again with Calvert scoring on a three-point play to put the Eagles ahead 47-29 with 15:52 left in the game.  Calvert finished the day with 17 points as she was nearly perfect from the floor going 7 of 8.  She connected on her first seven shots before missing a contested lay-up.  Diana Choibekova gave Winthrop a 21-point lead after converting three free throws with 14:19 left.

The Eagles stretched the lead to 25 at 66-41 when McClanahan drove the lane for a lay-up with 6:23 remaining to play.  McClanahan connected on 6 of her final nine shots in the game to finish 11 of 24 from the floor.

As a team Winthrop connected on 31 of 58 field goals (53.4 pct.) and went 14 of 17 from the free throw line.  Behind Nunn's rebounding work, the Eagles won the battle of the boards 40-27.   PC was held to 32.8 percent shooting (19-58) and was 5 of 7 from the charity line.  With Kasey Hobbie going 4 of 5 from behind the arc, the Blue Hose finished the day shooting 7 of 19 on threes. 

Hobbie led PC with 12 points while Dria David and Burnside finished with 10 each.  Mariah Pietrowski led PC on the glass with eight rebounds.

Winthrop's next game will be on Jan. 24 when it travels to Coastal Carolina for a 7 p.m. conference game.  PC will host Gardner-Webb on Thursday night.