Jan. 3, 2009

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Career-highs of nine assists from junior Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer) and five blocked shots from senior Ebony Johnson (Columbia, S.C./Ridge View) led the USC Upstate women's basketball team to its first Atlantic Sun Conference win of the season on Saturday afternoon at the Hodge Center, with Upstate's defense forcing 31 North Florida turnovers en route to a 69-50 win.

The Spartans (5-5 overall, 1-2 A-Sun) matched both their 2007-08 total of wins and conference wins in one fell swoop against North Florida (2-10, 1-2 A-Sun), as Upstate held North Florida to a freezing 32.8 (20-for-61) percent from the floor. Meanwhile, eight Upstate players made 16 steals, helping the team to 14 fast-break points and keeping the Ospreys out of reach for most of the game.

"I was very happy with our performance overall (Saturday)," Upstate head coach Tammy George said. "We struggled a little bit shooting, but our defense did so many positive things that it kept our offense flowing. We were able to create scoring opportunities with our defense and we answered every time UNF looked to make a run. It was a big win for us, because it sets a tone for how we want to play for the rest of the season."

Hawkins flirted with a triple-double as the 5-4 combo guard played one of the most dynamic games of her career, posting nine points and eight rebounds to go with her nine assists.

"You have to get everybody involved," Hawkins said of her passing. "That's how you have fun and we had fun tonight. And we got a win."

Johnson, as well, played dynamically, finishing with 10 points, four rebounds, five blocks and a season-high five steals.

A late 3-pointer helped freshman Kendra Wallace (Hurricane, W.Va./Nitro) take over the game-lead with 15 points, as she also added four rebounds and two steals. She shot a solid 6-for-11 from the floor and hit two 3-pointers, to make her just the 10th Spartan freshman in school history to hit 10 in a season.

Sophomore Chelsea McMillan (Quincy, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) posted 14 points, five rebounds, two steals and three blocked shots. Freshman Chelsey Peterson (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork) added eight points (going a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor and 2-for-2 at the line), four rebounds and a steal and junior Kolesia Richardson (Mary Esther, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) added eight points, three assists and two rebounds.

"We've been working on shooting into the passing lanes and getting around post players and keeping our hands up," McMillan said. "It showed tonight with us getting those blocks and getting as many steals as we did. If we focus on defense, it will help us get points on the other end."

After both teams traded buckets in the first 30 seasons, Upstate went on an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 13-4 lead after the first media timeout. The run was paced by five points from Hawkins. The team extended the lead to 23-8 with 10:02 left in the half after two free throws from Hawkins.

The Lady Ospreys cut the lead to eight points after a bucket from Jennifer Bowen with 5:55 left, but a baseline jumper from Wallace helped Upstate regain a double-digit lead and close the half on an 8-1 run, that included fast-break layups from both seniors Courtney Bradley (Columbia, S.C./Dutch Fork) and Johnson.

The Spartans held the Ospreys to 26.7 percent shooting from the floor in the first half and scored 17 points off turnover, taking a comfortable 33-18 lead into the locker room.

The teams battled back-and -forth through much of the second-half, with a 3-pointer from Wallace giving Upstate its first 20-point lead at 50-30 with 10:44 left. UNF cut the lead to 15 twice after that, but Wallace's second trey of the half, with 2:04 remaining, gave Upstate a 22-point lead at 68-46 lead. From there, four points from Kim Baker helped UNF cut the lead to 19 points when the game ended.

North Florida was led by 10 points from Bowen. She also added three rebounds and three steals. Both Kayla Mobley and Shennette Sheffield finished with nine points, as Sheffield also added seven rebounds. Jennifer Guldager posted a team-high eight rebounds, two points and two assists.

The win also snapped a five-game losing streak for Upstate, who won its first four games of the season before running into a tough stretch of opponents that included SEC foe South Carolina and Summit League contenders Oakland and Oral Roberts.

"It was a crucial win," Hawkins said. "During the losing streak, we got down a little bit, so we needed this game to show that we can win and compete against the teams in the league. We have Jacksonville on Monday and I am looking forward to it. I think we can compete with anybody in our conference."

Upstate gets back on the court on Monday with another conference doubleheader with the men's team, as they both square off against Jacksonville. The women's game is set to tip at 5 p.m. with the men following at 7:30 p.m. Last season, the Spartan women fell to Jacksonville, 66-65, in their Hodge Center matchup, with a Spartan shot falling off the rim as time expired.

Notes
- Upstate is now 2-6 all-time on Jan. 3.
- With 2007-08 the Spartans first year of Division I competition, the 2008-09 squad has already tied both school Division I records for total wins and conference wins.
- With her five steals, senior Ebony Johnson became the 21st player in school history to reach 100 career steals. She is now 19th in school history with 104 career thefts.
- With three steals during the game, senior Courtney Bradley moved into 15th in school history with 111 career thefts.
- Senior Ebony Johnson now has a blocked shot in each of the last four games, the longest such streak of her career.
- Johnson's five blocked shots give her 38 in her career, just two shy of Sharon McDowell's (1985-87) mark of 40, which is eighth in school history.
- Junior Courtney Hawkins now has 40 assists to go against just 17 turnovers this season, a ratio of 2.35, which leads the A-Sun.
- With 39 blocked shots this season, the Spartans are just three shy of passing their total of 42 during 2007-08.
- Nine Upstate players finished with 12 or more minutes of playing time.
- Upstate improved to a perfect 3-0 at home this season with the win.
- This was the first time in the DI era that the Spartan basketball squads swept a doubleheader. The men's team beat North Florida, 69-64, in action before the women's game.