Play-By-Play

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball team (1-7) dropped a 72-64 decision to Presbyterian College (4-4) tonight at the Hodge Center, marking the Spartans' closest loss of the 2011-12 campaign.

Things looked promising for the Spartans in the first half as the lead changed four times in the early goings of the contest. Upstate took a three-point lead with 3:35 to play in the first frame, but Presbyterian went on an 8-0 run, taking a 26-21 lead in to the locker room at the half.

PC went on another run at the start of the second stanza, chiseling out a 15-point lead with 14:30 left to play. Upstate battled back to pull within in nine (44-53) with 7:21 on the clock, but the Spartans couldn't complete the come-back as the two squads exchanged points the rest of the night.

The Spartans were led by junior guards Tee'Ara Copney (Asheville, N.C.) and Tyra Smith (Lawrenceville, Ga.) with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Copney led the team in assists, dishing out four on the night, while freshman Briana Robinson (Columbia, S.C.) handed out three assists and contributed seven points.

Copney and Robinson shared a team-high four rebounds apiece for Upstate, while Copney also led the Spartan defense with five steals.  Sophomore Madisen Webb (Georgetown, Ky.) added nine points and snagged three boards for the Spartans.

The Blue Hose were led by a trio of double-figure scorers as Mariah Pietrowski led the charge with 21 points. Dria David and Karlee Taylor each tallied 15 points for the PC offense. David pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, while Sherece Smith grabbed eight boards and registered nine points. Smith recorded a team-high four assists and three steals for PC.

Upstate shot 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor, while also going 33.3 (5-of-15) from three-point range. Presbyterian was 41.5 percent from the floor and 23.1 percent from behind the arc. PC went 25-for-29 (86.2) from the charity stripe, while Upstate went 23-for-28 (82.1). The Blue Hose won the battle of the boards 39-31 as the Spartans have yet to outrebound an opponent this year.

Upstate holds a 20-18 advantage against Presbyterian in the all-time series, including a 10-9 mark in the Hodge Center. In the teams' previous meeting, the Spartans beat the Blue Hose 78-73 in Spartanburg, S.C., Dec. 2, 2010. Before tonight's contest, PC's last victory over Upstate came Dec. 17, 2006 in Spartanburg, S.C., when the Blue Hose claimed a 94-85 win.

Upstate returns to action Sunday, Dec. 11, traveling to No. 7/6 Duke for a 2 p.m. tip-off. Follow the Spartans this season on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.