University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
IUPUI
Hawkins Uses Huge Second Half To Lift Spartans Past IUPUI, 73-63
11/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2008
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Junior Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer) scored 19 of her game-high 22 points in the second half, as she canned three of her four 3-pointers in the stanza, to help the USC Upstate women's basketball team overcome a three-point deficit heading into the locker room and lead the Spartans to a 73-63 win over IUPUI at Conseco Fieldhouse on Tuesday afternoon.
The win was a bit of sweet redemption for the Spartans (4-0 overall), who fell 65-56 to the Jaguars (3-2 overall) on Nov. 21, 2007 after the Spartans took a six-point lead into the half. This time, the Spartans heated up to shoot 42 percent (13-for-31) from the field in the second half including hitting a remarkable 71 percent (5-for-7) from three-point land. Meanwhile, the Jags shot just 29 percent (10-for-35) from the floor.
A free throw from Jernisha Cann gave the Jags a 37-33 lead with 17:22 left in the second half. After a possession of missed shots from each team, Hawkins connected on a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one. Another missed Jags jumper led to a jumper from sophomore Sam Frost (Baltimore, Md./North Greenville University). After Julia Whitted gave the lead back to the Jags with a jumper, freshman Lesley Daniel (Collinwood, Tenn./Collinwood) turned a Frost steal into a 3-pointer, giving the Spartans a 41-39 lead.
From there, the Spartans wouldn't trail again, even though Cann cut the lead to one at 42-41 with 12:04 left. Two free throws from sophomore Chelsea McMillan (Quincy, Fla./Santa Fe (Fla.) C.C.) and back-to-back jumpers from Hawkins extended the Spartan lead to seven with 9:36 left. The Jags cut the lead to six with 8:19 left, but Hawkins responded with another trey on a dish from Frost, giving Upstate a 55-46 lead just 12 seconds later.
The Jags cut the lead to seven after a three from BryKeesha Tate at 69-62 with 1:00 left, but two free throws from Hawkins and two more from freshman Kendra Wallace (Hurricane, W.Va./Nitro) iced the game.
The Spartans and Jags played even for much of the first half, with neither team taking more than a five-point advantage. A 3-pointer from senior Courtney Bradley (Columbia, S.C./Dutch Fork) tied the game at 24 with 4:54 left and a layup from Frost gave Upstate a 29-28 lead with 1:52 remaining, but four straight points from Cann helped the Jags to the locker room with a 32-29 lead.
Hawkins led the Spartans with 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. She knocked down all four of her 3-point attempts and shot 7-for-15 from the field. Frost added 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. Wallace notched 11 points, including three trifectas, three rebounds and three assists. Daniel added 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal.
For the first time this season, McMillan did not score in double figures, even though she posted an impressive six points, seven rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. Senior Ebony Johnson (Columbia, S.C./Ridge View) added six points, a rebound, an assist and a steal.
Cann led the Jags with 23 points, 15 rebounds, four steals and a block. Whitted added 13 points, nine rebounds and eight blocks. Nicole James also added 10 points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Upstate will look for its fifth straight win on Wednesday, Dec. 3 when it travels to Macon, Ga., for its Atlantic Sun Conference opener against Mercer at 5 p.m.
