ROCK HILL, SC – A strong defensive effort and quality free-throw shooting led the Winthrop women's basketball team to a 57-52 victory over the Charleston Southern Buccaneers Tuesday evening.

Winthrop moves to 2-0 in the Big South with the victory and 6-7 overall while Charleston Southern fell to 0-2 in the conference and 3-10 overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED
In a low-scoring first half, the Eagles held the Buccaneers to only 17 points and 29 percent shooting from the field and 0-for-8 from three-point range.  The first quarters saw back-and-forth action as the Eagles took the early lead only to see the Buccaneers mount a comeback.  Winthrop held an 11-9 lead after the first 10 minutes. 

Charleston Southern tied the game at 11-11 early in the second quarter before Winthrop went on a 9-0 run, taking a 20-11 lead with 5:01 on the clock.  The Buccaneers responded with a 6-0 run of their own to pull within three but a last-minute shot gave the Eagles a 22-17 lead at the break.

To open the third quarter, Charleston Southern again closed the deficit to one but the Eagles responded with a 6-0 run, regaining a seven-point advantage.  The two sides traded buckets and the Buccaneers were able to come up with a late steal to pull within three at 35-32 heading into the final quarter.

Winthrop was held to only four points in the opening four minutes of the fourth quarter and Charleston Southern used an 8-4 run to take a 40-39 lead with 6:12 left in the contest.  Over the last six minutes, Winthrop regained its lead and held on from the free-throw line for the 57-52 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Jah'Che Whitfield led all scorers with 19 points while Anika Riley and Courtney Hagaman each added nine points.  Three Eagles tied for the team lead with five rebounds. 

Winthrop forced 12 of Charleston Southern's 22 turnovers and turned those into 20 points.  The Eagles shot 38 percent from the floor and 72 percent from the charity stripe.  The Buccaneers edged the Eagles on rebounding 39-32.

WHAT'S UP NEXT
Winthrop finishes off a three-game homestand to open conference play Thursday evening when the Eagles play host to the USC Upstate Spartans at 7 p.m. at the Winthrop Coliseum.