CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Senior guard Bridget Takach scored 16 points and teammate Lea Smith added 13 points, but it was not enough as Presbyterian College fell to future Big South Conference opponent Charleston Southern 81-56 on Wednesday evening at the CSU Fieldhouse.
The loss dropped PC to 1-19 on the season. The Lady Bucs improved to 5-12 overall with the win over the Lady Blue Hose.
Takach (Chapin, S.C.) finished the game by hitting 4-of-5 from three-point range. She also dished out two assists and forced two steals.
Smith (Marion, N.C.) was 6-of-11 from the field. She shared the team-high in rebounds with Taylor Price (Fort Bragg, N.C.) with seven boards.
Charleston Southern had a trio of players finish in double figures as Pam Tolbert led the way with a game-high 27 points. Tolbert connected on seven of her 10 shots from beyond the arc, hitting 9-of-13 shots overall from the field.
Teammates Crystal Robinson (11) and Tina DeCarvalho (10) were the other two CSU players in double digits. Robinson was the only player with a double-double in the contest as she also brought down 10 rebounds in the game.
Overall, PC shot 31.3 percent in the game (20-of-64), while Charleston Southern shot 47.8 percent (33-for-69).
With the Blue Hose down 40-26 at the break, Charleston Southern ran out to a 60-35 lead by the 13:52 mark of the second half.
The Lady Bucs would eventually extend the lead to 28 points before PC closed out the game by scoring 13 of the final 24 points.
PC trailed 8-0 to start the game after a series of Tolbert three-pointers before Takach knocked down a three-pointer that would cut the lead to 8-3.
With a 14-8 CSU lead and a series of substitutions for the Lady Blue Hose, PC got six points from the combination of Katlin Moore (Fort Mill, S.C.), Smith and Price to cut the lead to 16-14 with 10:58 left in the first half.
The Lady Bucs responded with a 12-0 run over the next 6:09 of the game. A Kristin Kidd (Valdese, N.C.) jumper halted the CSU run.
Takach scored eight points in the final 3:20 of the first half to place PC down by just 14 at 40-26 at intermission.
PC next remains on the road for its fifth straight game against Big South Conference competition. The Lady Blue Hose take on Winthrop at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19.
