Feb. 23, 2009

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Everything was going right for 35 minutes of Monday's night's game for the USC Upstate women's basketball team. Forcing the Atlantic Sun Conference's No. 1 tournament seed into a double bonus, the Spartans had hit five straight free throws to take a five-point lead.

A 3-pointer from Tara Davis cut the momentum and a fastbreak layup off a Spartan turnover by Siarre Evans snapped Upstate's momentum and the Lady Bucs went on a 19-8 run in the last 4:55 to clinch the 90-84 A-Sun win at the Hodge Center.

"ETSU is one of the best teams in the A-Sun," Upstate head coach Tammy George said. "We played tough. We shot well. We played hungry. We made too many mistakes that cost us, but so did they. To have a plus-nine rebounding differential against one of the best rebounding teams in the league is a real positive. We created an opportunity to win this game, and I hope that we use this, learn from it, and realize we can beat any team in the league."

The Lady Bucs' win spoiled Upstate's PinkZone, which raised at least $700 for the Upstate Chapter of the American Cancer Society, and also spoiled one of the best offensive performances of the season from Upstate (11-16 overall, 6-12 A-Sun), which hit a DI-era high 12 3-pointers in the game.

With the score tied at 76, junior Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer) scored on the back end of a pair of free throws with 3:36 left. Evans answered with a 3-pointer, but freshman Chelsey Peterson (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork) made a tough play, following a missed jumper by hitting a twisting layup to tue the game at 79.

Latisha Belcher gave ETSU (17-9 overall, 14-3 A-Sun) a two-point lead on a jumper as she was fouled by sophomore Chelsea McMillan (Quincy, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.), her fifth and disqualifying foul. After Belcher missed the free throw, Evans pulled down the rebound and Gwen Washington hit a jumper in the lane to take an 83-79 lead with 2:20 left.

A fastbreak layup in the paint by Hawkins beat ETSU's press, but Evans hit two free throws to keep the lead at four. With 37 seconds left, freshman Kendra Wallace (Hurricane, W.Va./Nitro) willed in a 3-pointer that rolled off the back of the rim into the net and cut the Spartan deficit to 85-84. Upstate called timeout and out of the timeout, Washington launched a baseball pass 60 feet down court where TaRonda Wiles flew in for an easy bucket, making it 87-84.

The Spartans took a 3-pointer, but it fell short and ETSU got the rebound and the Lady Bucs closed the game with three free throws in four attempts.

Hawkins drove the Spartans in the first half, scoring 20 of her 26 points in the first stanza, as she got open enough to hit five 3-pointers in the half. The Lady Bucs were just as hot from downtown in the first half, though, knocking down eight. Back-to-back-to-back connections from downtown by Tara Davis twice and Evans opened up a 26-18 lead with 10:06 left in the first half, but Wallace knocked down a trifecta of her own to cut the lead to five.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Natalie Pickwell brought the lead back to 11 points, but a 3-pointer from junior Kolesia Richardson (Mary Esther, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) cut the lead to eight and then Hawkins scored five in a row, hitting a fastbreak layup on a give from Peterson and then canning a 3-pointer.

Hawkins stayed active and after she knocked a ball away fro a steal with 3:55 left in the half, she canned a three to help Upstate take a 35-34 lead. A three from Richardson with 2:39 left tied the game at 38 and a layup by sophomore Sam Frost (Baltimore, Md./North Greenville University) gave Upstate two-point edge.

A layup on a drive by Wallace gave the Spartans a 3-point cushion after a Lady Bucs' free throw and Hawkins closed out the half by taking an inbounds at half court with three seconds left and dribbling into pressure before launching an awkward shot that bounced off the glass and in, giving Upstate a 45-39 lead at the half.

The Lady Bucs were able go on an 8-2 run tot ie the game at 47 with 16:44 left, but Upstate soon got back in control as Peterson hit back-to-back shots to five Upstate a 51-48 lead with 15:43 left. A 3-pointer from senior Cherale Powell (Wilkesboro, N.C./Wilkes C.C.) made it 56-51 with 12:57 left, but a another 8-2 run gave the Lady Bucs a 59-58 lead with 9:57 left.

The teams alternated leads from there until a pair of free throws from McMillan gave Upstate a 73-71 lead with 5:37 left and another pair from Wallace and the one from Hawkins gave the Spartans a five-point lead with 4:55 left.

Hawkins scored a season-high 26 points, adding six rebounds, four assists and a steal for Upstate. She hit a career-high five 3-pointers in the game. Wallace finished with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists. She canned four 3-pointers.

Richardson posted 11 points, a team-high five assists and four rebounds and Peterson scored 10 points and added five rebounds and three assists. McMillan posted eight points and 10 rebounds and Powell added a season-high seven points to go with four rebounds.

Evans led the Lady Bucs with a career-high 35 points to go with 11 rebounds. Wiles added 19 points and four rebounds, Belcher posted 12 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and four assists and Davis added 11 points and eight assists.

The Spartans wrap up the year with two home doubleheaders, facing Mercer on Thursday at 5 p.m. before the men play at 7:30 p.m. Kennesaw State heads to the Hodge Center on Saturday, with the men's teams playing at 1 p.m. and the women wrapping up the 2008-09 season at 4 p.m.

Notes
- Freshman Kendra Wallace hit four 3-pointer, marking the 24th game this season that she canned at least one trey.
- Upstate is 5-8 all-time on Feb. 23 ... It is 0-4 all-time against ETSU.
- The Spartans outrebounded the Lady Bucs, 44-35, falling to 5-2 this season when winning the battle of the boards.
- Four players finished in double figures for the sixth time this season.
- Junior Kolesia Richardson has scored in double figures in each of the last three games.