Johnson City, Tenn. – Winthrop won their first Big South Tournament game since 2014 by a final score of 48-45 on
Olivia Wagner's buzzer-beater from deep vs. Charleston Southern in the quarterfinals of the Hercules Tire Big South Women's Basketball Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
Winthrop (16-14, 9-7 Big South) | Charleston Southern (14-16, 10-6 Big South)
Mar. 6, 2025 | Freedom Hall
Winthrop 48, Charleston Southern 45
How it Happened
First Quarter | CSU scored the first four points of the game before a
Blessing Okoh triple and baskets by
Marissa Gasaway and
Ronaltha Marc gave Winthrop a 7-4 lead with 3:18 left. During the 7-0 run for the Eagles, the defense held the Bucs without a point for four minutes. CSU would then end the frame with an 8-0 run to take a 12-7 lead.
Second Quarter | The two teams would combine for five points in the first three minutes of the second quarter, leaving the Bucs ahead 14-10.
Mya Pierfax got two quick buckets to tie the contest at 14 with 4:27 remaining while Winthrop again forced CSU into a long stretch without scoring, holding them scoreless for nearly five minutes. CSU then scored five of the next seven points to take a 19-16 lead going into the break.
Third Quarter | Both teams each recorded eight points in the first six minutes, with the Bucs still ahead by three at 27-24 with 2:17 left. After basket by CSU,
Amourie Porter drained one from deep to cut the lead to two with 1:32 left but the Bucs scored two quick baskets to take a six-point lead at 33-27 going into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter | CSU began the fourth quarter with a basket but Marc made it a five-point affair with a three-pointer at the 8:36 mark, making the score 35-30 in favor of the Bucs. The Bucs scored four quick points to take it up to nine but Porter scored on a layup and then on the next Eagle possession scored once again and drew a foul. The ensuing free throw cut it to four with 6:53 left. After another score by the Bucs, Winthrop then rallied to tie the game at 41 on a 6-0 with 2:28 left after Porter's basket while holding the Bucs scoreless for four minutes. CSU would hit a pair of free throws to break the tie with 2:07 to go but Marc only hit one of two free throws to leave her team down one with 1:48. After forcing a turnover,
Konnor Gambrell's basket gave Winthrop a one-point lead with 1:12 left, 45-44. The Bucs answered with a layup with 53 seconds remaining to go up one but Porter hit a free throw to tie it up with 40 seconds left. After playing good defense, Winthrop got the ball back with a chance to win it. But Porter traveled on the play. CSU inbounded the ball at midcourt with three seconds left for their chance to win the game but they committed an offensive foul during the inbounds pass, giving Winthrop another shot to win it in regulation, setting the stage for Wagner's heroics.
Statistical Standouts (Team)
- Winthrop moves to 628-921 all-time as a program
- Eagles have the most overall wins since they won 17 in 2014-15
- Winthrop has captured their first win in the conference tournament since Mar. 9, 2014 when the Eagles defeated High Point in the title game in Conway, S.C. by a final score of 87-74
- Winthrop is 16-37 all-time at the Big South Tournament
- Winthrop is 2-3 all-time vs. Charleston Southern in the Big South Tournament
- Winthrop is 2-0 all-time in the Big South Tournament on Mar. 6
- Winthrop is 1-0 in the Big South Tournament game in the state of Tennessee
- Winthrop is 13-26 all-time in the first round/quarterfinals of the tournament
- Winthrop is 5-5 all-time as the five seed
- Eagle head coach Semeka Randall-Lay has moved into a tie for sixth on the all-time coaching wins list in school history (Mary Roland Griffin also has 50)
- Randall-Lay needs one more win for 51 wins as the Winthrop head coach
- A win tomorrow would also move Randall-Lay into a tie for fifth on the school history coaching wins list (Linda Warren also has 51)
- There were a combined 10 ties and eight lead changes
- Winthrop shot 50% from the field in the fourth quarter
- Winthrop held CSU to 4% from deep
- Winthrop outshot CSU 66% to 50% from the free throw line
- Four Eagles played more than 30 minutes
- Porter had a double double with 15 points and 11 rebounds
Statistical Standouts (Individual)
Up Next
The Eagles will take on No. 1 seeded High Point on Saturday, Mar. 8 at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
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