NORTH CHARLESTON, SC—Winthrop senior Erica Williams recorded a double-double with 15 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, but turnovers proved to be the Eagles' downfall in a 71-52 Big South Conference loss at Charleston Southern on Saturday.
 
Winthrop falls to 1-15 overall and remains winless in Big South play with a 0-4 record.  CSU is now 8-7 and even in conference play at 2-2.
 
The Eagles committed 19 turnovers in the game, including 13 in the first half, which led to a 24-6 Buccaneer advantage in points off turnovers.  The Eagles never had the lead in the game, but trailed by only two points after the first quarter at 12-10.  Winthrop connected on 5 of 11 shots in the opening period while CSU struggled on 5 of 22 shooting, but eight Eagle turnovers led to seven Buccaneer points. In the first half, 16 of CSU's points were a result of Winthrop turnovers as the Bucs led 31-20.
 
Winthrop took care of the ball better in the second half, but its shooting went cold as the Eagles missed 20 of the first 23 shots they attempted and that allowed CSU to expand its lead to 19 points at 44-25 with just over five minutes left in the third quarter. 
 
Ke"Asia Jackson, the leading scorer in the game, finished with 23 points, but she had 12 of those in the second quarter and nine more in the third quarter to help give her team a comfortable lead.  CSU's largest lead of the game was 25 points which came after two free throws by Jackson with 6:08 remaining.  Bucs freshman Jasmine Blackman scored a season-high 14 points on 7 of 8 shooting.
 
In addition to Williams' 15 points, freshman point guard Danyael Goodhope got into double figures for the Eagles with 10 points.
 
Winthrop finished the game shooting 34 percent (21-61) and missed all seven of its 3-point attempts.  After its slow start, CSU ended up connecting on 40 percent from the field (30-75).   
 
"We seemed to be a step behind all day," said Winthrop head coach Kevin Cook. "The difference was their points off our turnovers.  Erica (Williams) battled with 15 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.  That's a pretty doggone good performance."
 
Winthrop travels to Buies Creek, NC on Tuesday night to face Campbell, and will return home on Saturday, Jan. 21, to play Presbyterian College at 1:00 p.m.