Spartans Earn Historic Win At Charleston Southern, 80-68
11/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2007
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Thanks to career-highs from sophomore Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer) and Shanea Wyant (Jefferson, Ind./Lafayette Jefferson) of 26 and 15 points, respectively, the USC Upstate women's basketball team secured its first win in the Division I era at Charleston Southern, 80-68, at the CSU Field House on Friday night.
"My teammates just helped me get the ball a lot, driving and on the fast break a lot," Hawkins said. "I was going to try to draw a foul once my teammates gave me the ball."
The 5-4 Hawkins finished with 26 points and nine rebounds on 10-for-18 shooting from the floor while Wyant, a forward, added 15 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. The team also got double-digit performances from freshmen Oceana Jackson (Carnesville, Ga./Franklin County), who had 12 points and seven rebounds, and Tiffany Whiting (Troutman, N.C./South Iredell), who had 10 points and five rebounds. Junior Courtney Bradley (Columbia, S.C./Dutch Fork) added eight points and four assists and classmate Ebony Johnson (Columbia, S.C./Ridgeview) added seven points and eight rebounds.
Pam Tolbert posted 33 points and six rebounds to lead Charleston Southern and Cindee Wright added 11 points. The Lady Bucs were hampered by the Spartans on the glass all night long, as the Spartans posted a 46-33 advantage on the glass.
"We've talked about that," Upstate head coach Tammy George said of the team's rebounding. "They just believe. We've played Wake Forest and Kentucky with big 6-3, 6-4 post players. We have kids who just play hard and go get it. They believe in themselves and they believe we can win."
The Spartans used a powerful and balanced offensive front that scored 39 points in the first half and closed the game with 41 in the second half to close the win. Upstate shot 50 percent (31-for-62) from the floor in the win.
After the Lady Bucs (2-1 overall) cut the lead to four at 61-57, the Spartans (1-2 overall) closed the game on a 19-9 run, using five points from both Hawkins and Wyant during the run to help close the door.
The Spartans, who had a lead as large as 10 with 15:02 left, saw the lead cut down to one at 51-50 after a 3-pointer from Charleston Southern's Whitney Wiley. The Spartans built the lead back up to nine with a 10-2 run, getting four more points from Hawkins.
A late 9-0 run and a 41.7 percent shooting performance from the floor helped the Spartans take a 39-30 lead into halftime. Hawkins led the Spartans with 13 points and five rebounds in the half and both Wyant and Whiting added eight points.
USC Upstate and Charleston Southern both shot out of the gates, shooting well, with the Spartans taking a 7-5 lead with 18:11 left in the first half, after a three from Whiting and two buckets inside from Jackson. Tolbert started to heat up after that for the Lady Bucs, hitting two 3-pointers and giving the Bucs a 15-13 lead.
The Spartans responded by going on a 14-6 run, with Wyant posting six points and Hawkins posting four. The Lady Bucs responded with nine straight points before Hawkins got a friendly roll on a wide-open 3-pointer from the left side to tie the game at 30. Johnson gave the Spartans the lead on a fast-break layup with 2:34 left after Wyant prevented a turnover with a heads up poke away from a Lady Buc defender. The Spartans continued their roll, with Whiting hitting a 3-pointer from the left corner as the shot clock went off. Hawkins added two free throws with 5.8 seconds left.
"We're moving the ball a lot faster on the outside and we're spreading the ball a lot better on the outside," Wyant said. "We're looking to drive and get dishes so everyone gets more looks."
The game between the Lady Bucs and Spartans was the first between the two schools in women's basketball in 21 years, with then-Baptist College beating USC Spartanburg, 83-80, in the last meeting on Jan. 16, 1986.
The Spartans will host for the first time as a Division I school on Wednesday when IUPUI comes to the Hodge Center for a 7 p.m. game.
Notes
- The Spartans won their first game as a Division I team.
- The Spartans shot more than 50 percent from the field for the first time since shooting 57.6 percent in a 94-86 win over North Georgia on Jan. 17.
- Sophomore Courtney Hawkins posted a career-high 26 points, besting her previous best of 25 at Armstrong Atlantic State, set on Feb. 17, 2007.
- Sophomore Shanea Wyant scored a career-high 15 points, besting her previous best of 10 at Armstrong Atlantic State, set on Feb. 17, 2007.
- Freshman Tiffany Whiting hit at least two 3-pointers for the third straight game, finishing with two.
- Freshmen Oceana Jackson and Tiffany Whiting have each scored at least 10 points in the first three Spartan games.
- Junior Ebony Johnson finished with eight rebounds, the third straight game she had at least five rebounds.
- The Spartans are now 8-2 in their all-time series with Charleston Southern. The Spartans are 36-31 all-time against schools from the Big South Conference.
