Box Score

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The University of Charleston women's basketball team shot just 40 percent from the floor, but a suffocating second half defensive effort forced 14 Pitt-Johnstown turnovers as the Golden Eagles pulled out a 74-62 WVIAC victory, Saturday evening.

Charleston (1-3) is a freshman dominated team as 6-of-11 players to register in the box score are playing in their rookie campaign so looking to continually grow has been the key. Growing is what occured in the matchup against Pitt-Johnstown, but it happened in the matter of 40 minutes as two different teams appeared on the floor for UC in the two halves of play.

UPJ shot just 25 percent in the first half, but managed five steals while the Golden Eagles contributed to their own problems with 13 turnovers. Charleston managed to hit just 1-of-6 three-point attempts, while the Mountain Cats went 4-for-16 to keep a slim advantage of 25-23 at halftime. The visitors were able to turn the ball control of UC into 14 points for the half.

The second half saw an inspired University of Charleston effort on the defensive side of the ball that allowed for a fast-break tempo to lead to instant offense for the Golden Eagles. Taking the ball down the court off UPJ turnovers allowed Charleston to get the ball in the lane for lay up after lay up, which proved to be successful on this night as many times down the floor UC had numbers against the defense.

Freshman speedster Kayla Dozier (Alpharetta, GA) proved to be a perfect fit for the pace of the offense as she exploded for three steals leading to 11 second half points to set an early career scoring mark. The two post players for Charleston also benefitted from getting the ball at point-blank range with the rim as Erika Rousculp (Worthington, OH) put up eight points, while newcomer Kali Cuttaia (Eden, NC) poured in nine points in the half. Rousculp concluded the evening with a double-double of 17 rebounds and 10 points with Cuttaia adding 11 points and five rebounds.

Five shots from behind the arc kept the Mountain Cats within reach until the seven minute mark of the second half when UC began to put some distance on the scoreboard. Charleston benefitted from 18 points from its bench in the half along with 14 fast-break points to go with an impressive 28 points in the paint. The staggering difference in numbers allowed the Golden Eagles to cruise down the stretch for a 12-point win as they netted 51 points on 49 percent shooting with a strong second half performance.

Sophomores Tiffany Scott (Ottawa Lake, MI) and Lauren Davis (Cincinnati, OH) paced UC in the final boxscore with 13 points each, while Davis contributed a team-high four steals to go along with Scott's seven rebounds.

The tale of two halves went the way of the Golden Eagles on this night and head coach Sherry Winn will go back to finding the next step in the growth of her young team as they prepare to travel to Central State on Tuesday, Nov. 22 for a 7:00 pm contest.