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Jacksonville, Fla. – USC Upstate senior post player Chelsea McMillan turned in a career night and became the 13th player in the history of the program to reach 1,000 career points, but North Florida came out on top with a 91-73 victory over the Spartans in A-Sun women's basketball action Saturday evening in the UNF Arena.
McMillan, the A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year, finished the night with a career-high 34 points and 17 rebounds to record her six-straight double-double, the ninth of the season and the 30th of her career. She reached 1,000 points when she converted a layup for her 20th point of the game with 15:42 on the clock. It was her ninth-straight point for Upstate as the senior scored the Spartans' first 13 points in the second half. She finished with 23 points in the second half as Upstate turned to her in an attempt to get back into the game.
McMillan entered the game needing 17 rebounds to reach 700 in her career. She got that on the button and now has 700 career boards. It should be noted that McMillan has achieved 1,000 points and 700 rebounds in just two and a half years in the program, having transferred to Upstate from Santa Fe Community College after her freshman season.
"Well, I just try to score and rebound to help my team out," said McMillan, from East Gadsden, Fla. "It's always good to have a good night, but I'm just trying to do whatever I can to help us win. I've worked really hard and the coaches have pushed me everyday to be the best that I could be and have confidence in myself. If I didn't have confidence in myself, I couldn't have achieved what I have."
Despite the performance from McMillan, Upstate fell prey to a torrid offensive attack from North Florida. The Ospreys shot 48 percent from the floor, 54 percent from the three-point arc and 79 percent from the free throw line in a tremendous offensive performance. They entered the game averaging just 52 points per game overall and 58 a contest in league play. On Saturday, the Ospreys scored 39 points higher than their season average.
North Florida started quickly, building a 15-4 lead in the first 5:43 of the game. Upstate cut the lead to eight on two occasions, one on a three-pointer from freshman Madisen Webb (Georgetown, Ky.) and the second on a layup by Webb. However, the Ospreys used a 5-0 spurt to take a 13-point lead and pushed their advantage to as many as 23 late in the first half. They went into halftime with a 47-26 lead.
North Florida shot 49 percent from the field and 57 percent from the three-point arc in the first half. The Ospreys held Upstate to 26 percent shooting from the floor, including a 1-for-8 performance from the arc. The Ospreys turned 12 Upstate turnovers into 17 points.
After falling behind by 26 points to start the second half, Upstate head coach Tammy George told her team to go to McMillan. McMillan scored the Spartans' first 13 points of the half as Upstate cut the Osprey lead to 20 points with 14:17 remaining.
"The focus was to try to get the ball inside to me and for me to score or, if I was double-teamed, get it out to our guards," said McMillan. "I have confidence in their ability to shoot and score from outside. I was just able to knock down some shots tonight."
North Florida, though, used a 14-5 run over the next four minutes to increase its advantage to 29, 73-46. Upstate then had one of the scariest moments in recent history when Webb went up to contest a shot from Octavia Langston and came crashing down to the floor, hitting her arm and head on the hardwood. She was knocked unconscious and lost feeling in her extremities for a brief period of time. She was immediately attended to by Cameron Buchanan, assistant athletic trainer at Upstate, and the UNF medical staff before EMS personnel arrived at the scene. She was placed on a backboard, carried off the floor on a stretcher and transported to the hospital. She regained feeling throughout her body prior to the arrival of the EMS personnel and was expected to be released from the hospital Saturday night.
The game was stopped for nearly 10 minutes due to Webb's injury. The injury seemed to energize Upstate, as sports they often due to the injured player's team. Upstate trailed by 29 when Webb suffered her injury at the 8:43 mark of the half. The Spartans cut the lead to 14 points over the next 4:42 to make things interesting.
The 29-point deficit was just too much to overcome, however. North Florida scored six-straight points to increase the lead to 20 with 3:20 to play and went on for the 18-point victory.
Upstate finished the game shooting 36 percent from the floor and 28 percent from the three-point arc, shooting 47 percent from the floor and 40 percent from the arc in the second half. McMillan added a pair of blocks to her 34-point, 17-rebound night. Kendra Wallace (Hurricane, W.Va.) finished with 15 points as the only other Spartan in double figures. She made three three-pointers to get within 16 three-pointers of Upstate's career record held by Stephanie Feyes (2001-05). Webb finished with nine points.
Brittany Kirkland finished with 20 points to lead four North Florida players in double figures. She also reached 1,000 career points in the game. Jadhken Kerr added 14 points, while Raneisha Lamar and Jade Givens totaled 13 and 10 points, respectively.
