University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Kennesaw State
Spartans Fall To Owls' Second-Half Surge, 80-63
12/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2008
KENNESAW, Ga. - Freshmen Kendra Wallace (Hurricane, W.Va./Nitro) and Lesley Daniel (Collinwood, Tenn./Collinwood) combined for 28 points and six 3-pointers for the USC Upstate women's basketball team, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 37-point, 20-rebound night from the Atlantic Sun Conference's reigning Player and Defensive Players of the Year, as Kennesaw State overcame a two-point halftime deficit to down Upstate, 80-63, on Saturday night at the KSU Convocation Center.
The Spartans (4-2 overall, 0-2 A-Sun) were led by Wallace, who finished with 15 points, three 3-pointers and three rebounds. Daniel finished with 13 points, three 3-pointers, five rebounds, four assists and two fouls in her first career start. Junior Kolesia Richardson (Mary Esther, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) posted nine points, two rebounds and two steals and sophomore Chelsea McMillan (Quincy, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) posted eight points and a block. Sophomore Sam Frost (Baltimore, Md./North Greenville University) added seven points, eight rebounds and two assists.
A technical foul with 9:17 left keyed an 11-0 run that left the Owls (2-4 overall, 1-0 A-Sun) with a 59-48 lead with 7:48 left. With the score tied 48, Britteny Henderson hit a jumper in the lane and then a technical foul on Upstate led to another free throw from Henderson. After an offensive rebound, Gia Lockett hit a layup and Henderson followed with back-to-back layups, giving the Owls a nine-point lead. Greteya Kelley finished the run with a bucket and Kennesaw State never let the Spartans back within 10 points.
The Owls shot 63 percent (20-for-32) from the field in the second half while Upstate shot just 31 percent (10-for-32) and also held a 63 percent (14-for-22) to 46 percent (11-for-24) advantage from the free throw line during the game.
"Kennesaw State played very solid in the second half," Upstate head coach Tammy George said. "We were able to keep (reigning A-Sun Player of the Year Britteny) Henderson off the scoreboard in the first half and she showed why she is such a great player in the second half. We didn't respond quickly enough after they made their run, but I think there are many positives we can take out of this game because Kennesaw State is one of the best teams in the league."
The Owls used a 17-6 run in the first eight minutes of the second half to take a 48-41 lead after a bucket by Angie Smith, but the Spartans stormed back with seven straight points to tie the game. Wallace hit a jumper from 10 feet, sophomore Chelsea McMillan (Quincy, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) hit a layup on a second-chance rebound and Daniel drained a three on another second-chance opportunity.
A 10-3 run in the final 3:39 of the first half helped Upstate take a two-point advantage into the locker room. Daniel hit a fall-away jumper from the left baseline as the shot clock wound down to start the rally, then came up with a steal that eventually turned into a layup from Brittany Johnson with 2:22 left. After a free throw was hit by Kelley, Wallace answered with her second three of the half and after a missed Owls' free throw on the front end of a 1-and-1, Daniel connected on her second three of the half, giving Upstate a 33-29 lead with 38 seconds left in the half. Kelley answered with a breakaway layup with one second left to cut Upstate's lead to two.
The Owls and Spartans played cautiously early in the first half with a 3-pointer from freshman Lesley Daniel (Collinwood, Tenn./Collinwood) making the score 5-4 with 15:25 left. From there, the Spartans used trifectas from freshman Kendra Wallace (Hurricane, W.Va./Nitro) and sophomore Sam Frost (Baltimore, Md./North Greenville University) to take a 13-7 lead with 13:08 on the clock. The Owls clawed back into the game, tying it at 13 after a layup from Kelley at the 9:44 mark. The two teams fought back and forth for the next six minutes before Kelley hit a layup to give the Owls a 26-23 lead with 3:27 left.
Kelley led the Owls with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Henderson added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the second of the team's double-doubles. Kelley, the league's defending Defensive Player of the Year, added five assists and three steals and Henderson, the league's defending Player of the Year, scored all of her points in the second half.
Upstate gets back on the court on Tuesday when it travels to the Colonial Life Center for a 5:30 p.m. contest with South Carolina, as part of a doubleheader with the Gamecocks' men's team taking on North Carolina Central at 8 p.m. This is the first time in school history that the Spartans will take on the Gamecocks during the regular season.
Notes
- The Spartans are now 1-1 all-time on Dec. 13.
- Tonight's game was the first of four in a seven-day span for the Spartans, who travel to USC on Tuesday for ending the week with games against Oral Roberts and Oakland in Cozumel, Mexico on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
- Sam Frost's eight rebounds were a career high. Her previous high was seven at Presbyterian in the season-opener.
- Kendra Wallace is now tied for 11th in Upstate's freshman record book with 16 3-pointers made this season.
- Junior Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer) was held scoreless for the second straight game. She did add four assists in 21 minutes on the floor.
- Upstate blocked three shots in the game after rejecting none against Mercer in its last outing on Dec. 3.
