Tilda Sjokvist spurred a furious fourth-quarter comeback in Presbyterian College’s Big South opener at Templeton Center on Wednesday night.

It wasn’t enough.

Catherine Alben, Charleston Southern’s sophomore guard from Snellville, Ga., buried the Blue Hose with 24 points – and six triples in nine tries – as the Buccaneers pulled out a 61-57 upset.

“She is a really good player. When you let her get her feeling good, it’s really hard to bottle her up,” said Presbyterian head coach Alaura Sharp of Alben.

Charleston Southern (4-10, 1-0 conference) dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Blue Hose 18-9, and took a 51-36 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Sjokvist, a sophomore from Huskvarna, Sweden, entered the final 10 minutes with 12 points and exited it with 26. In the fourth quarter, she canned 5/7 shots, and 4/5 counted three apiece.

Presbyterian (9-7, 0-1) got as close as two. The Bucs hit 2/4 free throws in the final 16.5 seconds, and it was enough to nail it down. The Blue Hose scored 21 points to the Buccaneers’ 11 in a fourth quarter that saw CSU shoot .167 (2/12) from the floor (but 1/2 from bonus range) and .357 (5/14) at the free-throw line.

The Bucs still won.

“I think we’re a better basketball team than we played [tonight],” said Sharp, “but it’s way too early to hit the panic button. We’ve got 15 more opportunities (in the Big South) to play better basketball.

“Fifteen turnovers in the first half. This really isn’t us and who we are.”

For the entire game, Presbyterian committed 10 more turnovers (23-13) than Charleston Southern. The Bucs scored 26 points off those turnovers. The Blue Hose had six. Only nine of PC’s 21 field goals were assisted.

Sharp added, “Tilda (Sjokvist) just put us on her back and almost willed us to win.

“We’ve got to grow up and mature from this and bounce back quick, because they just keep coming.”

It was the 16^th of Presbyterian’s 31 regular-season games.

The crowd of 194, many of whom were apparently playing hide-and-seek, perked up near the end with the addition to the crowd of other athletes who had finished practice. Classes do not resume at PC until Monday.

Take a look at the stats here.

Meanwhile, in North Charleston, where Charleston Southern is oddly located, the Presbyterian men opened successfully with an exceptionally balanced, 68-61, sinking of the Buccaneers in their home port.

All nine PC players who hit the CSU Fieldhouse floor scored, none more than 10 points. Samage Teel, Marquis Barnett and Jamahri Harvey all edged into double digits as the Blue Hose successfully opened the Big South season.

Presbyterian (9-7, 1-0 conference) scored 31 bench points to CSU’s five. Inside the lane, the Blue Hose outscored the Bucs 34-22.

Charleston Southern (4-10, 0-1) got 20 points from Taje Kelly and 15 from R.J. Johnson.

The teams traded rallies at the outset. CSU’s 11-point run preceded seven straight by the Hose, leaving the two tied at 11. Another Hose run of seven put them up, 18-14. Kory Mincy’s back-to-back triples contributed to PC building a 35-25 halftime lead.

After Barnett’s thunderous dunk at the 13:17 mark of the latter half, the Hose took their biggest lead, 47-32.

Charleston got no closer than six points.

Presbyterian’s defense forced Charleston Southern into 16 turnovers.

The Buccaneers stayed within range by hitting 18/20 free throws. The Hose converted 13/19.

Presbyterian shot .294 (5-17) outside the arc and .500 (20/40) within its borders.

The Blue Hose host UNC Asheville in their Big South Conference home opener on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Take a look at the stats here.         

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