Clemson Women’s Basketball Falls at Charlotte, 64-57

Jan. 4, 2010

CHARLOTTE, NC – Clemson put up a strong effort, but struggled from the floor en route to a 64-57 loss at the hands of the Charlotte 49ers on Monday afternoon. Clemson (9-7) held Charlotte (7-7) without a field goal for the final 5:12 of game time, but the 49ers hit 14 free throws during the stretch to edge the Tigers in Halton Arena.

Clemson stormed out of the gate in the second half, scoring a quick five points to take a 28-24 lead in the first minute on a three by Hardy and a hoop from Pauldo, who led the Tigers with 10 points. The Tigers tied a season-best, shooting 15-17 from the line, but were only 2-20 from behind the arc, managing only 20 field goals on 76 attempts for the game, or 26.3 percent.

Jasmine Tate had a career-high 14 rebounds to lead Clemson, who had 28 offensive rebounds, the sixth-highest mark in Clemson history. The Tigers outrebounded the Niners, 51-46, but fell for the second consecutive game despite finishing with more rebounds than the opponent. Freshman Keyrra Gillespie had six points, eight rebounds, and five assists against only one turnover in 25 minutes. Kirstyn Wright added nine points for the Tigers as well.

Lele Hardy struggled offensively, going 2-19 from the field on the night, finishing with nine points and five rebounds. She also moved alone into eighth in ACC history with three first-half steals, giving her 337 for her career.

Aysha Jones lef the 49ers with 15 points, and the Tigers held 49er leading scorer Shannon McCallum to only five points. Ashley Spriggs had a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.

The Tigers struggled from the field in the first half, shooting only 8-31(25.8%), despite outrebounding the 49ers, forcing more turnovers, and shooting 87.5% from the charity stripe. Jasmine Tate had seven first-half rebounds to lead the Tigers.

The Tiger bench outscored the 49er bench, 7-2 in the first stanza, led by Christy Brown’s four points. On the night, the Tiger bench score 17 to only nine for the 49ers, the 13th time this season the Clemson bench has outscored the opponent in a game.

Clemson will now open up conference play with four straight ranked opponents. Clemson and #7 Duke get underway on Jan. 7 at 7:00 pm.