Feb. 28, 2009

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Down 14 points seemingly before the game started and down 17 more than midway through the first half, the USC Upstate women's basketball team grouped together and put together one of its stingiest defensive efforts of the year in the second half to post an impressive 71-66 win over Kennesaw State on Saturday afternoon in front of a raucous doubleheader crowd at the Hodge Center, closing out the Spartans' second season of Division I play.

Led by four double-digit point efforts for the third straight game, the Spartans dominated the second half, scoring 10 fast-break points and posting 15 off turnovers to turn the tables on the Owls (15-14 overall, 11-9 A-Sun), beating their formal Peach Belt Conference rival for the first time since a 53-45 victory on Feb. 20, 1995, a span of 15 straight KSU wins.

"It was a great win, a great way to finish the season," Upstate's fourth-year head coach Tammy George, who moved into a tie for fourth in Upstate's record book with 45 career wins, said. "We came out flat against a very aggressive team, but for the final 25 minutes, we played some of the best basketball of the season. We were the aggressive team. We got them into foul trouble. We pressured them into bad decisions defensively. We played hungry and that is something I hope we keep with us next year and in the coming years after this."

Upstate finished its second season in Division I with a 13-16 overall record, eight wins improved on their first DI campaign in 2007-08, which is currently one of the top 10 turnarounds in the country. It was the third best improvement in school history, as both the 1985-86 and 1992-93 teams posted 16-win turnarounds. The Spartans also finished the conference season with an 8-12 record and in seventh place in the A-Sun after finishing 1-15 in a tie for 11th in 2007-08.

Upstate cut the lead to one point after a jumper from sophomore Chelsea McMillan (Quincy, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) swished through with 13:38 left, but Kennesaw State went on a 6-0 run capped by four points from Montinique Nixon to take a seven point lead at 55-48 with 11:27 left. The teams traded two possessions each when freshman Chelsey Peterson (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork) picked an Owls' pass and went coast-to-coast for a layup to cut the lead to five. A free throw from McMillan made it a four-point game before a layup from Gia Lockett made it 57-51 with 9:15 left.

A McMillan layup on a give from senior Cherale Powell (Wilkesboro, N.C./Wilkes C.C.) made it a four-point game and nearly two minutes later, another steal by Peterson led to her being fouled. She converted one of the free throws to make it 57-54 and then both teams traded possessions before an Owls' travel helped set up the Spartans, as junior Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer) found freshman Kendra Wallace (Hurricane, W.Va./Nitro) in the corner for a game-tying 3-pointer with 6:32 left.

A free throw from Greteya Kelley gave the Owls a slim one point lead and an over-the-back call sent junior Kolesia Richardson (Mary Esther, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) to the line, where she canned both free throws, giving Upstate its first lead of the game, 59-58, with 5:32 left. Kennesaw State called timeout and the large crowd took over.

"The crowd was into it and that really helped us out, too," Richardson, whose parents made the trip up from Florida for the season finale, said. "I turned the ball over quite a bit today, but having the crowd there, encouraging me and telling me it was OK, that helped us get back on defense. That's what helped keep me going and kept me from getting down on myself about it."

The Owls countered with a jumper from Jennifer Baker, but a fast-break layup from Peterson and a layup from McMillan put the Spartans up 63-60 with 4:27 left. Then an offensive foul on McMillan sent her to the bench with a fifth foul and Baker hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 63 with 3:11 left.

"If they kept up their intensity and we took care of the ball, I knew we'd have no problem coming out with the win," McMillan said. "I'm proud of how Sam (Frost) came in, played defensive in the post and proud of how Chelsey (Peterson) played defense and offense all night long. I'm just proud of how everyone stepped up."

However, McMillan's replacement, sophomore Sam Frost (Baltimore, Md./North Greenville University) was sent to the line with 1:53 left, where she hit the back end of a pair of free throws. Nixon also hit the back end of a pair of free throws with 1:28 left and then Richardson charged the lane and hit a layup with 1:15 left as she was fouled. Although she missed the free throw, Hawkins came up with a steal and she found Peterson, who completed the fast-break layup.

A jumper from Preseason A-Sun Player of the Year Britteny Henderson cut the lead to two points, but a baseball pass on the inbounds found a wide open Peterson, who deeked out an Owls defender to convert the layup and take a 70-66 lead with 22 seconds left. Another Owls' turnover helped put Wallace on the line, who hit a free throw with 14 seconds left to close out the game.

"It's great to have a post player that can run the floor," Hawkins said of Peterson. "She's one of the best in the league. She can fly and get to the backboard for an easy layup."

The Owls hit three 3-pointers in the first three minutes to take a 14-0 lead, and the Spartans could cut the lead to just eight before another 18-9 run gave Kennesaw State a 36-19 lead with 7:37 left in the first half.

"They shot the ball so well early," Hawkins said, "and we couldn't get back on defense. They were getting wide open shots. We just stopped and took it one play at a time and realized that we could try to build from that."

Upstate cut the lead to seven thanks to a 16-6 run that occupied the next seven minutes, led by five points from Hawkins, making it 42-35 before a Nixon jumper sank as the buzzer sounded, giving Kennesaw State a 44-35 halftime lead.

The Spartans continued their strong play in the second half. After the Owls hit the opening bucket, the Spartans went on a 13-3 run to cut the lead to one point, thanks to four points from McMillan and three from Peterson.

Peterson led the Spartans for the second straight game with 19 points, adding four rebounds, two assists and four steals. McMillan posted 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks and Hawkins notched 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Richardson added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists and Wallace finished with nine points and four boards.

Kennesaw State was led by 15 points and 11 rebounds from Nixon and 18 points, six rebounds and two blocks from Baker. Both Greteya Kelley and Henderson added eight points.

Notes
- Upstate said goodbye to four seniors in a pregame ceremony, as guards Ebony Johnson and Cherale Powell, forward Kelly Westfield and team manager Maria Herrera concluded their careers with the women's basketball programs.
- Junior Courtney Hawkins scored 12 points in the game, leaving her 12 shy of becoming the 12th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.
- Hawkins did move into the top 10 in career assists, however, as her five helpers gave her 230 in her career, moving her into a tie for 10th in school history with Dawn Bowden (1985-89).
- Freshman Kendra Wallace hit two 3-pointers, marking the 26th game this season that she canned at least one trey ... she finished the season third in school history with 72 3-pointers made.
- The 17-point comeback is the largest in the DI era for the Spartans.
- At least four players finished in double figures for the eighth time this season.
- Junior Kolesia Richardson has scored in double figures in each of the last five games.
- Kennesaw State head coach Colby Tilley lost for the first time in his 14 years at Kennesaw State to the Spartans ... He is 15-1 all-time against Upstate.