Clemson Downs Charleston Southern, 75-62, On Sunday Afternoon

Dec. 16, 2007

CLEMSON, SC – Five players scored in double figures as the Clemson women’s basketball team downed Charleston Southern, 75-62, on Sunday afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum after a nine-day layoff.

Rookie Kirstyn Wright posted a career high 12 points coming off the bench for Head Coach Cristy McKinney’s squad, while fellow freshman Whitney Hood added 12 points and seven boards in a reserve role as well.

Lele Hardy was just one rebound shy of a double-double with a team-best nine rebounds and 10 points. The sophomore from Spartanburg, SC was just 2-for-11 from the field but converted all six of her free throw attempts and collected six steals against the Buccaneers.

“Any win is a good win for us,” McKinney said. “I think we played a little flat and would have liked to have been more intense. However, we had good balance and good play off the bench today and got the job done.”

The win was the Lady Tigers’ third straight to better their record to 7-5 on the year.

Clemson erased an eight-point deficit in the first half with a 17-8 run to end the period. Hood sank a pair of free throws with 2:31 remaining to give the Lady Tigers their first lead (32-30) since the 15:21 mark.

The Meridian, MS native hit two more foul shots just 30 seconds later and freshman Sthefany Thomas converted a pair of her own with just five seconds remaining to send Clemson to its lockerroom on top, 36-32.

The Lady Tigers were 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the half and ended the game 17-for-20.

The Lady Bucs narrowed the margin to just one point twice in the second half with the last coming at the 9:34 mark (51-50). A jumper by Hood and four free throws by Hardy stretched the lead back to seven.

Clemson extended the advantage to as many as 14 points after a Wright lay-up with 30 seconds remaining made the score 74-60.

Pam Tolbert led Charleston Southern (3-7) with 18 points, while Natalie Caldwell posted 15 and Tina DeCarvalho pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

Clemson will be back in action on Tuesday as the Lady Tigers travel to Dayton, OH to take on the Flyers.