Even though the team defeated Charleston, 58-45, in a low-scoring Mountain East Conference women’s game versus Charleston, it was Shepherd’s longer assortment of scorers that carried the afternoon.

Charleston had only Octavia Loll to be much of a menace to the Rams. Meanwhile, Shepherd had four players able to score in double figures and help push the Rams back to the breakeven mark with a 13-13 overall record.

Toll didn’t look for many shots, and the remainder of the Charleston roster was generally stalled, as the Golden Eagles had little success with a perimeter offense that had few players ever close to the basket.

Once the Rams eased out to a 16-7 after one quarter, Charleston was going to be distressed because of its overall lack of scoring sources.

Charleston’s individual offense was mostly silent because of players with little quickness or ability to find shots off the dribble. Shepherd found higher-percentage shots and had Sydney Clayton, Kari Lankford, Morgan Arden and Kayla Tibbs to give it enough points to win.

Loll brought Charleston closer in the third quarter, when the Golden Eagles managed 17 points and reduced Shepherd’s 13-point halftime lead back to 43-37.

When Charleston went to a half-court zone defense in the fourth period, Shepherd quickly moved its lead from 43-39 to 50-39, and the Rams were no longer in jeopardy of losing.

Shepherd’s 39-30 rebounding advantage was a tangible reason it prevailed, and Charleston’s 2-for-20 shooting on three-point attempts helped curb its slender chances.

Wednesday night, the Rams were in Glenville to try the full-court pressure clamped on opponents by the high-flying Pioneers. Glenville was 24-1 overall and had an unbeaten conference record when Shepherd arrived. The Rams complete their regular season tomorrow at 2 p.m. at home against invading Fairmont, and then go into the conference tournament next week.

Shepherd had more scoring choices than did Charleston. Will the Rams have the same advantage when seeing Fairmont, a team with a few more wins than losses, but one that’s struggling to get to.500 in the conference?