Feb. 5, 2009

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Junior Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer) scored a game-high 17 points to become the 13th player in school history to reach 900 career points on Thursday night at the Hodge Center, but a 55 percent (35-for-64) effort from the floor, coupled with 12 3-pointers and 20 free throws helped Florida Gulf Coast University take off sprinting and never look back against the USC Upstate women's basketball team, as FGCU won its ninth straight, 102-53, in Atlantic Sun Conference action.

Hawkins, at 5-4, is the shortest player in school history to reach 900 career points. The guard posted 17 points for the Spartans (10-12 overall, 5-8 A-Sun), adding four rebounds and two assists. She canned 2-of-4 from 3-point land and finished the game with 903 career points, just two shy of Tammy Smith's mark of 905 points set from 1996-98.

A smooth running motion offense for the Eagles (18-4 overall, 11-3 A-Sun) helped the team to its ninth straight win, as it posted 26 assists on 35 field goals. Forcing 28 turnovers on 16 steals, the Eagles posted 22 points off turnover, adding eight fast-break points.

"FGCU is one of the best teams in the conference and they showed it (Thursday)," Upstate head coach Tammy George said. "We couldn't find a way to stop them defensively, which is a little disappointing because we played well defensively the last couple games. They were able to find the open player and they got easy looks. It was not our best effort."

A 3-pointer from Chelsea Lyles gave FGCU a 9-4 lead with 15:45 left and a fastbreak layup by Adrianne McNally set up back-to-back 3s from Kristina Mingos and Brittany Brown, as it took a 17-4 lead with 13:47 left. From there, the lead grew, with Shannon Murphy hitting a 3 to give the Eagles a 27-9 lead with 9:35 left in the first half. Four straight points from Kelsey Jacobson gave FGCU a 27-point lead with 3:52 left in the first and Upstate never got back within 25 points.

After shooting 51 percent (20-for-39) in the first half, the Eagles shot 60 percent (15-for-25) in the second half, adding a 75 percent (15-for-20) from the free throw line, closing out the game by going over the 100-point mark with a free throw from Emma Beddome with 2:28 left.

Freshman Chelsey Peterson (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork) scored a career-high 12 points, adding three rebounds and sophomore Chelsea McMillan (Quincy, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) added six points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Tiffany Whiting (Troutman, N.C./South Iredell), in her first action in 13 games, played well, posting five poins and a 3-pointer in 10 minutes. She also forced an Eagles' turnover by drawing a five-second call.

Six Eagles scored in double figures, with freshman Jacobson scoring a team-high 15 points, hitting all four of her 3-point attempts. Mingos added 14 points and four steals and Lyles added 12 points and five rebounds. Murphy notched 11 points and seven assists, Amanda Fessenden added 11 points and Adrianne McNally had 10 points and four assists.

Upstate is back on the Hodge Center floor Saturday when it hosts Stetson at 4 p.m.

Notes
- The Spartans are 5-5 all-time on Feb. 5.
- This was the first time in the DI era that the Spartans allowed 100 points in a game ... It was also the first time in the DI era that FGCU scored 100 points ... Both school transitioned to DI and the A-Sun in 2007-08.
- The last time a team scored 100 points on Upstate was at Columbus State on Jan. 28, 1998 in a 104-49 loss ... FGCU scored 100 points for the ninth time in program history and the first since a 105-14 win at Puerto Rico-Cayey on Feb. 2, 2007.
- Freshman Chelsey Peterson scored a career-high 12 points, hitting 6-of-7 from the field.
- Freshman Kendra Wallace scored just two points and went without a 3-pointer for just the third time this year.
- Senior Cherale Powell scored a season-high four points.
- Sophomore Chelsea McMillan blocked her 30th shot of the season, moving into a tie for ninth in the school's single-season record book with Trina Beaty (1991-92) and Carla Gambrell (1987-88).