Senior Sophilia Hipps scored a game-high 23 points but that wasn't enough as SC State suffered a 71-87 loss to Charleston Southern University (CSU) Saturday at the Buccaneer Field House.
CSU began the game on an 8-0 run but SC State quickly rebounded with a 6-0 run of their own to pull within two, 8-6. From that point, the first half turned into a game of runs. The Buccaneers went on a 10-4 run over six minutes to jump ahead 18-10. The Lady Bulldogs then went on an 8-2 run to pull within three, 25-22. The Buccaneers closed the first half with an 18-10 run to enjoy a 43-32 advantage at the half.
SC State opened the second half with a 9-3 run over six minutes of the half to pull within five, 46-41. Charleston Southern then went on a 13-4 run over the next five minutes to increase its lead by 12, 57-45. The Buccaneers would go up by 16, 63-47, midway through the second half. The Lady Bulldogs managed to get as close as nine, 75-66, with a little over three minutes remaining but could not get any closer and would eventually fall by 16, 87-71.
Freshman Paris Alston recorded a double-double, 17 points-11 rebounds and junior transfer Joi Walker dropped in 11 points as SC State fell to 2-3 on the season.
CSU had five players in double-figures with Katie Tull leading the way with 17 points. LeChell Rush scored 15, Tina Decarvalho added 12, Helen Terry contributed 13 and Lakeitha Alston chipped in 10 points as the Buccaneers improved to 3-2 on the season.
The Lady Bulldogs will return to action on Tuesday when they host North Carolina Central University in a non-conference match-up in the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
