Feb. 7, 2009

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - With the score tied with 6:42 left, a Stetson defensive miscue left freshman Kendra Wallace (Hurricane, W.Va./Nitro) wide open for a 12-foot jumper, starting an 11-0 run for the USC Upstate women's basketball team that Stetson couldn't overcome, as Upstate came-from-behind for an impressive 75-61 win in Atlantic Sun Conference action at the Hodge Center on Saturday afternoon.

After allowing 100 points for the first time in 11 seasons on Thursday against league-leading Florida Gulf Coast, the Spartans (11-12 overall, 6-8 A-Sun) turned in a rather stingy defensive effort, allowing the Hatters (8-16 overall, 5-10 A-Sun) to shoot just 31 percent (19-for-61) from the field. Meanwhile, the Upstate offense clicked into another gear as well, as it posted 70 points for the first time since a 90-80 win over S.C. State on Jan. 6, a span of nine games.

"It was a great win for us," Upstate head coach Tammy George said. "I was ecstatic about our overall team effort, especially considering Thursday's game. I was worried we might come out flat, but we played resiliently. I was very happy with how we moved the ball, and was happy to see our offense really start to click in the second half. Anytime you can score 55 points in a half, it means good things."

The series sweep of Stetson is the first for Upstate in the A-Sun, as it posted a 57-53 win over the Hatters in DeLand, Fla., on Jan. 8. The win also helped Upstate to a doubleheader sweep for the third time this season, as the Spartan men beat the Hatters, 54-53, on two free throws from Bobby Davis in the afternoon's first game.

With the score tied at 55, three Hatters slowly approached midcourt as junior Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer) took the ball up the court uncontested. As the players approached for the trap, Hawkins fired a three-quarter court pass to Wallace, who drained the wide open look, giving the Spartans a 57-55 lead.

After a missed jumper by the Hatters, Wallace got the rebound and then hit a 3-pointer on another pass from Hawkins, extending the lead to five. Then Wallace got her hands on an inbounds pass after a timeout by the Hatters and turned to find Hawkins, who sprinted in for a clean fastbreak layup. A pair of free throws from freshman Lesley Daniel (Collinwood, Tenn./Collinwood) and a driving layup through the lane gave Upstate a 66-55 lead with 3:41 left.

The Hatters cut the lead to seven with 2:46 left, but Upstate hit 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the waning moments to never let the Hatters get closer.

"I felt like we played more as a team (Saturday)," Peterson said. "We did the extra stuff. We found the extra pass. We weren't selfish. It was good team basketball. It wasn't one individual that stepped up, we all did as a team."

Stetson got the lead to eight points just 48 seconds into the second half after a 3-pointer from Brittany Carrante, but an old-fashioned 3-point play from freshman Chelsey Peterson (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork) helped get the momentum back on the Spartans' side with 18:36 left. Wallace converted her own traditional 3-point play on the fastbreak to cut the lead to 30-28 with 17:38 left.

The Hatters scored the next three points, but a jumper from sophomore Chelsea McMillan (Quincy, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) and another fastbreak layup from Wallace on a dish from McMillan cut the lead to a point. McMillan hit a layup to put Upstate ahead 34-33 with 15:22 left. Sophomore Kim Pitman (Plumtree, N.C./Avery) got a cross-paint dish from McMillan to extend the lead to three points, but a 3-pointer from Stetson's Tierra Brown tied the game at 36.

Stetson took a 40-39 lead with 12:16 left, but a 3-pointer from Wallace put Upstate back up 42-40 and a jumper from Peterson extended the lead to four points. Upstate's offense started to really click midway through the half, as Wallace hit a three, senior Cherale Powell (Wilkesboro, N.C./Wilkes C.C.) hit an easy layup and Wallace hit another jumper all on helpers from Daniel, but Stetson hit six free throws to make it 51-46 with 10:22 left.

"Lesley (Daniel) was able to pull the defense out and as they collapsed, she found the open person," Wallace said. "She helped keep our offense going all game."

The Hatters battled to cut the lead, hitting seven straight free throws at one point before layups by Ayesha Barkley and Jessica Conner helped tie the game at 53 with 7:16 left. The teams each traded two points from there, setting up Upstate's 11-0 run.

Both teams struggled in the first half, with Upstate shooting just 26.7 percent (8-for-30) and Stetson firing up shots at a 29 percent (9-for-31) rate. The Hatters took a five-point lead after a 3-pointer from Brown with 7:24 left in the opening half and a jumper by Jessica Bivens on the break made it 19-12. Upstate couldn't get closer than five points during the rest of the half, but a jumper by Wallace helped give the Spartans some momentum as they went into halftime down, 25-20.

Wallace led the Spartans, scoring 23 points, tying a career high with seven rebounds and setting a career high with four assists. She hit 4-of-8 shots from downtown and hit 9-of-15 from the field. McMillan posted her fourth double-double in the last nine games with 10 points and 12 rebounds, also adding three assists, a career-high tying four blocks and two steals. Peterson tied a career high with 12 points.

Daniel notched seven points, five assists and two steals and Hawkins added six points and six assists, as the Spartan passing game accounted for 21 helpers on 26 field goals. Senior Kelly Westfield (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg College) posted five points and two steals and junior Kolesia Richardson (Mary Esther, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) posted eight points and two rebounds.

The Hatters were led by four players in double figures as Conner posted 11 points and six rebounds. Barkley notched 10 points and eight rebounds, Brown posted 10 points and Bivins added 10 points and six rebounds. Ashli Jackson added 10 rebounds and eight points.

Upstate hits the road for a three-game road trip marking the final road games of the season, starting Friday when Upstate faces Belmont in the Curb Events Center at 7 p.m. in A-Sun action. The Spartans then face Lipscomb on Sunday at 2 p.m. and wrap up their road slate by facing Campbell on Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. on a game that will be broadcast on Comcast Sports South.

Notes
- The Spartans are 5-8 all-time on Feb. 7 ... Upstate now holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Hatters, having won the last two meetings.
- Freshman Chelsey Peterson has scored a career-high 12 points in each of the last two games.
- Freshman Kendra Wallace hit four 3-pointers, marking the 20th game this season that she canned at least one trey ... With 58 3-pointers this year, she is fifth in Upstate's single-season record book and three 3-pointers from setting the Upstate freshman mark.
- Senior Kelly Westfield tied a season high with two steals.
- Sophomore Chelsea McMillan tied a career high with four blocked shots, giving her 34 on the season ... She is currently tied for seventh in school history in the category.
- McMillan posted 10 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.
- Freshman Kendra Wallace tied a career-high with seven rebounds and established a new career high with four assists.
- Upstate outrebounded the Hatters, 43-39, marking the first time in 10 games Upstate won the battle of the boards.