Late First Half Surge Lifts Spartans To 2-0 Start In A-Sun Play With 85-71 Win Over Campbell
12/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Spartanburg, S.C. – Junior guard Kendra Wallace led four Spartans in double figures with a season-high 20 points, as USC Upstate posted an 85-71 win over Campbell in Atlantic Sun women's basketball action Thursday night at the Hodge Center.
With the win, the Spartans now improve to 4-4 overall, and forge a first-place tie atop the A-Sun standings with Florida Gulf Coast, as both clubs now sport identical 2-0 league marks. The loss drops the Lady Camels to 1-8 overall and 0-1 in A-Sun play.
"I thought we learned some things in the Ohio State game on Tuesday that we improved on tonight," said Upstate head coach Tammy George. "It was nice to get another win. I thought it was a really good effort for us and now we have to turn our attention to Radford on Saturday."
The 85 points marks a season team-high for the Spartans and Upstate also had four players score in double figures for the second time this season, which has now happened in both conference games this season. Four Spartans also posted double-figure scoring efforts in Upstate's 78-70 win over East Tennessee State back on Dec. 4.
Wallace connected on 7-of-10 shots from the field, including a season-high five triples (5-of-7), to highlight the season's most complete offensive performance from the Spartans. The five three-pointers from Wallace marks a season-high by a Spartan, besting the previous high of three triples set multiple times.
Wallace was joined in double figures by Sharneice Wadelington (14 pts.), Chelsea McMillan (12 pts.) and Tee'Ara Copney (11 pts.), as the Spartans connected on a sizzling 49.2 percent (31-of-63) from the field in the 14-point win. McMillan narrowly missed a double-double, but led the Spartans on the backboards with eight rebounds.
The game went back-and-forth for much of the opening half, but the Spartans would mount a pivotal run late in the opening half to take command of the game and were never really threatened again. With the game tied, 22-22, with 7:56 remaining in the half, the Spartans went on a 22-6 run to close the half, yielding a 44-28 halftime advantage.
The Lady Camels would cut the lead under double digits only once more in the contest, as Roslyn Presley's layup cut the Spartans' lead to 57-48 with 13:17 remaining in the game. From there, however, the Spartans once again asserted control of the Atlantic Sun showdown, using a 12-2 spurt to surge back to a 19-point advantage, 69-50, with 10:23 to go.
Campbell was led in double figures by junior guard Kate Cloxton, who led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 from long range. Joining Cloxton in double figures was fellow junior backcourt mate Amanda O'Neill, who finished with 12 points.
The Spartans claimed a 39-33 advantage on the glass, while holding the Lady Camels to 43.3 percent (26-of-60) from the field in the contest. The Spartans have little time to rest as they will be back in action on Saturday afternoon taking on Big South member Radford. Tip-off is slated for 4:30 p.m. at the Hodge Center. It will be the fourth game in eight days for Upstate.
