Skip To Main Content

Winthrop University Athletics

Skip Scoreboard

Scoreboard

Schedule

All Events
McClanahan drives to hoop
Tim Cowie/Winthropphotos.com

Winthrop's Winning Streak Snapped By Campbell 84-69 On Blackout Day

McClanahan Ties Season-High With 27 Points In Loss To Campbell
Box Score
photo_gallery

ROCK HILL, SC--
Winthrop's bid for a record-setting ninth straight win came to an abrupt halt on Saturday as a hot shooting Campbell women's team took advantage of  29 Eagle turnovers to claim a 84-69 Big South Conference victory in the Winthrop Coliseum.

The loss drops Winthrop to 15-9 overall and 9-3 in the conference while Campbell improves to 16-8 and 8-5 as they earn a split of the regular season series and take a 20-7 lead in the all-time series.  The 84 points allowed are the most since Liberty put up 90 back on Dec. 29.  Winthrop had not given up more than 65 points in its last nine games.

Dequesha McClanahan tied a season-high with 27 points on 11 of 21 shooting from the floor to lead three Eagles in double figures.  Aliyah Kilpatrick scored 16 while Diana Choibekova had 15 with all coming in the first half.  Campbell which finished the game connecting on 9 of 13 three-pointers for 69 percent placed four players in double digits led by Kiera Gaines with 23.  She was a perfect 5 of 5 on three balls. Tonisha Baker pumped in 20 and went 7 of 10 from the free throw line.  Roslyn Presley was 9 of 10 from the charity stripe and finished with 17 points while Zena Lovette was a perfect 3 of 3 from behind the arc and scored 11.

"Let's give credit to Campbell.  They came in and shot the ball very, very well," said Winthrop head coach Kevin Cook.  "They dictated tempo from the start of the game.  It was a tough game for us as far as taking care of the basketball.  We turned it over way too many times.  I thought we shot the ball well, but it was a case of giving up too many opportunities against their pressure.  It just wasn't our day."

After a slow start shooting the ball, Winthrop finished the day shooting 47 percent (24-51 and outrebounded the Camels 34-29 behind Schaquilla Nunn's game-high eight boards, but it was the 29 turnovers that proved fatal.  Winthrop had not turned the ball over as many times since its season opener against Troy.

After trailing 41-34 at intermission,  Winthrop opened the second half on a 7-2 run to draw to within two points at 43-41, but Campbell answered with six in a row to move out to a 49-41 advantage on a Baker lay-up off a steal with 16 minutes left in the contest.   Winthrop went 5 minutes, 18 seconds without a bucket before Schaquilla Nunn's first points of the game on a lay-up following a feed from McClanahan made it a 51-45 game with just over 12:22 remaining.

Campbell then pulled out to a 16-point lead at 64-48 as they drilled three straight 3-pointers from Baker and two by Gaines.  Winthrop responded with a 8-0 run to make it 64-56 with six minutes on the clock after Taylor Calvert made one of two free throws, but Campbell responded with a runout lay-up to make it a double-digit lead again and take the air out of any hope for an Eagle comeback.

Winthrop ran into a hot-shooting Campbell team in the first half as the Camels connected on 15 of 30 field goals, including 5 of 6 from behind the 3-point arc.  The hot-shooting of its opponent, coupled with 16 first half turnovers, put the Eagles in an early hole. 

Winthrop took a short-lived 4-2 lead on a 3-pointer by Choibekova, but the Eagles, who have been getting out of the gate quickly during its last eight games, committed five turnovers and an offensive rebounding foul to fall behind 8-4 after the opening 4 minutes, 29 seconds.  Campbell connected on two 3-pointers in the opening minutes while Winthrop connected on just one of its first seven shots.

Campbell doubled up the Eagles 16-8 on a baseline jumper by James.  McClanahan answered with her second straight running jumper to cut the deficit to six with just over 10 minutes left in the half.  The Camels came out of the second media timeout and scored five quick points including Lovette's second trey to take a 11-point lead at 21-10.   Campbell maintained the 11-point lead when Tonisha Baker scored on a turnaround 15-foot jumper to make it 30-19. 

After Campbell stretch its lead to 35-23 on Gaines' third triple of the game, Winthrop bounced back with a layup by McClanahan followed by a steal of the inbounds pass and a three-point play by Kilpatrick that got the Eagles back to within seven points with three minutes left.  James countered with a short jumper and Baker connected on two free throws to give the Camels a 11 point lead against with 2:25 left on the clock.  Following Winthrop's 16th turnover of the half, Gaines nailed a long jumper and the lead was up to 13 at 41-28.  Choibekova answered with back-to-back threes within a 20 second period to make it a 41-34 score at halftime.

Winthrop's next game will be on Thursday, Feb. 14 when it travels to Lynchburg, VA to take on league-leading Liberty at 7 p.m.  The Eagles will be out to avenge a 90-57 home loss to the Flames.  Campbell, which has now won three straight, will return home Thursday to host Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m.



Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Related Stories