ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop's women dropped a 63-55 non-conference decision to South Carolina State on Monday night as Bulldog senior Bryeasha Blair scored her team's final 10 points to hold off the Eagles.
 
Both teams are 1-1 on the season as SC State has now won 14 of the 20 meetings between the two schools.
 
After Winthrop had cut an eight-point deficit to a point at 51-50 following a pair of free throws by Erica Williams, Blair took over as she scored six unanswered points during a 4:29 stretch to give the Bulldogs a 59-50 lead with just under three minutes remaining. 
 
Winthrop got to within six points at 61-55 with 1:13 left in the game following a 3-pointer by freshman Danyael Goodhope and two free throws by Williams which were sandwiched around a driving layup by Blair, but that was as close as the Eagles could get.
 
Goodhope led Winthrop with 14 points followed by Williams with 13.  Freshman forward Angela Coello Perez chipped in with 10.  SC State placed four players in double figures with Chantel Williams leading the way with 14.  Blair, a fifth year transfer from Central Florida finished with 13 while Jahmia Bradley and Brittany Drumgoole finished with 11 each.
 
The big story of the game was on the glass where the Bulldogs held a commanding 15-rebound advantage (50-35).  JaQuanna Murray led all rebounders with 15 while Bradley capped off her double-double performance with 10 rebounds.  For the second straight game, Winthrop was led on the boards by freshman Teylahna Green, who grabbed 10.
 
Winthrop fell behind 5-0 to open the game and trailed by as many as 10 at 21-11 in the first quarter before going on a 6-0 run in the final 1:33 of the quarter to trail by only four at 21-17.
 
After SC State got the first bucket of the second quarter, the Eagles went on a 9-2 run to take a 26-23 lead on a baseline jumper by Ronata Rogers.  The Bulldogs then outscored Winthrop 7-0 over a 4:39 span to reclaim the lead at 30-26.  The half ended with SC State leading 32-28.
 
Winthrop finished the night shooting 30.5 percent (18-59) compared to 35.9 for SC State (23-64).  The Eagles shot better from beyond the arc at 36.8 (7 for 19) as Goodhope went 3 for 5 from long distance and Perez connected on two. 
 
Winthrop will return to action Wednesday night when it hosts College of Charleston at 7 p.m.