Copney Leads Comeback As Upstate Downs Longwood, 71-59
11/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2009
FARMVILLE, Va. - Down by 18 with 3:40 left in the first half, freshman Tee'Ara Copney (Asheville, N.C./T.C. Roberson) made back-to-back steals at midcourt for uncontested layups, starting a run of 10 straight points for the USC Upstate women's basketball team and shifting momentum back in favor of the Spartans, who led by Copney's 16 points and five steals, came all the way back to post a 71-59 win over Longwood in non-conference action at Willett Hall on Monday night.
"I am really proud of how the team fought back," Upstate coach Tammy George, who won her 90th career game in her seventh year as a head coach, said. "We showed a lot of poise and I am very pleased that we didn't panic after falling down so many. Tee'Ara really lit a fire under us and that really ignited us. It was just a great team effort."
Copney made back-to-back picks at midcourt and cruised in four layups to cut a 30-12 lead to 14 points. On the next possession, Copney posted another steal but missed a 3-pointer. However, on the next possession, she deflected a ball into sophomore Lesley Daniel's (Collinwood, Tenn./Collinwood) hands and she travelled the floor and was able to lay it up and in as she was fouled.
"We were struggling to find an offensive rhythm," Copney said, "and I was able to create it a little bit with those steals. We were able to pick up our intensity and that really helped us through."
After completing the three-point play, Upstate (2-0 overall) got the ball back and freshman Lauren McRoberts (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) found senior Koko Richardson (Mary Esther, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) under the hoop for a lay-in. After a pair of missed shots by Longwood, Richardson again drove in for a lay-in with five seconds left to close 11 straight Upstate points to end the half.
The Lancers (0-2 overall) were able to score the first five points in the second half and a layup by Becky Fernandes made it 37-25 with 17:48 left in the half. However, Copney answered with the first 3-pointer of her career and after another Longwood bucket, Copney hit another three. After a pair of turnovers, Copney made another pick and drove in for a layup, making it a six-point game, where it ebbed and flowed until back-to-back layups from junior Chelsea McMillan (East Gadsden, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) cut the lead to four points with 12:33 left.
The Lancers scored went on a 7-2 run to make it 50-41, but after a 1-for-2 effort at the line from Crystal Smith, a jumper by senior Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer) and then a 3-pointer from the guard cut the lead to four points. After a rebound by McRoberts on a Longwood 3-point attempt, Upstate got the lone 3-pointer of the game by sophomore Kendra Wallace (Hurricane, W.Va./Nitro) to cut the lead to one point.
Longwood slowed the momentum as Brittanni Billups hit a layup, but going down low, McMillan converted on a 3-point play to tie the game at 52. A layup by Richardson with 6:37 left gave Upstate its first lead of the game. The Lancers fought back to take the lead with at 57-56 with 5:02 left after a 3-pointer by Coward, but Hawkins answered with another try to give Upstate a lead and start a 7-0 run. McMillan and Hawkins each had buckets on the run, including Hawkins' on a fastbreak.
The Lancers got the lead back to four with 2:50 left, but a jumper by McMillan and another by Copney helped Upstate clinch the 71-59 win on a final 8-0 run.
"We struggled mightily in the first half," George said, "but I was glad that once we relaxed, we played with poise and command. We frustrated their offense and you could really see that in the final five minutes."
Copney was the high scorer for the Spartans, who had four players in double figures. Hawkins posted 15 points, three assists and three rebounds and McMillan also notched 15 points, all in the second half, to go with eight rebounds. Richardson posted 13 points, five rebounds and a block.
Crystal Smith led the Lancers with 13 points, eight assists and two steals and Coward posted 13 points and three rebounds. Billups also added 11 points and three rebounds. Heather Tobeck notched eight points, five rebounds and three blocks.
Upstate gets back on the court on Wednesday when it travels to Charlottesville, Va., for a matchup against No. 18/14 Virginia. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. at the John Paul Jones Arena.
Notes:
- The Spartans are 3-2 all-time on Nov. 16.
- Upstate has improved to 2-0 for the second straight season and the eighth time in school history.
- The win is Upstate's first in Virginia since beating Longwood on March 10, 1995, a 73-53 win in Norfolk, Va., in the Division II Tournament.
- Sophomore Chelsea McMillan is tied for sixth in school history with 46 career blocked shots, as she is now tied with former teammate Ebony Johnson.
- Head coach Tammy George now has 90 wins in her seven-year career as a coach. She has won 47 games in five years at USC Upstate.
- Assistant coach Kevin Nicholls had a contingent of about 15 friends and family from his hometown of Troy, Va., in the crowd.
