Upstate Women's Basketball Set to Face No. 6/5 Duke
12/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball team (1-7) hits the road this weekend, traveling to No. 6/5 Duke (6-2) for a 2 p.m. contest Sunday, Dec. 11.
Blue Devil Bullets:
No. 6/5 Duke enters Sunday's contest with a 6-2 record this season, including a 3-0 mark at Cameron Indoor.
The Blue Devils' two losses this season have been at the hands of ranked opponents. Duke dropped a 56-54 decision to then-No. 4/3 Notre Dame at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas Nov. 26. The Blue Devils are fresh off a 72-65 loss at No. 10/10 Kentucky Thursday, Dec. 8.
Duke is led by a quartet of scorers averaging double-figures as Elizabeth Williams leads the foursome with 12.5 points per game. Chelsea Gray is second on the team, averaging 10.6 point per contest, while Tricia Liston and Chloe Wells are each putting up 10.3 points a game. Williams also leads the squad in rebounding, snagging 9.0 boards per contest, while Gray is second on the team once again with 6.4 rebounds per game. Gray leads the Blue Devils, tallying 43 assists and 26 steals on the season. Williams also leads Duke with 27 blocks this season.
In Duke's last outing, Williams led the team with 17 points in a 72-65 loss at Kentucky. Haley Peters recorded 13 points, while Liston added 11 points. Peters and Williams posted a team-high against the Wildcats with six rebounds each.
Duke finished the 2010-11 season ranked No. 6/7. The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight last year, where they dropped a 75-40 decision to Connecticut
This will be the first meeting between Upstate and Duke. The Spartans are 0-1 against ranked opponents this season, dropping a 91-34 loss at then-No. 20/19 North Carolina Nov. 13.
Spartan Snip-Its:
Upstate snapped a six-game skid earlier this season with a 73-66 win on the road at UNC Asheville Nov. 30 as junior Tee'Ara Copney (Asheville, N.C.) posted a career-high 34 points. The win was the first of the season for the squad. The 0-6 start marked the first time the Spartans have dropped their first six contests of the season since the 2001-02 campaign, when they started the year 0-7. That season Upstate opened the season with a 72-67 loss to North Greenville Nov. 16, 2001. In this year's season-opener, the Spartans dropped a 75-57 decision to the Crusaders at the Hodge Center Nov. 11. This was the first time under head coach Tammy George that the Spartans posted a 0-6 record to start the season.
The 75-34 loss at Auburn Sunday, Nov. 27 was the second Southeastern Conference foe the Spartans face this season. Upstate posted a 88-42 loss at Vanderbilt Nov. 16.
Sunday's contest against the Blue Devils is the second Atlantic Coast Conference opponent and second ranked opponent on the docket for Upstate this season. The Spartans posted a 91-34 loss at then-No. 20/19 North Carolina Nov. 13.
Upstate is led by Copney with 19.0 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per contest. Sophomore Madisen Webb (Georgetown, Ky.) and freshman Briana Robinson (Columbia, S.C.) are averaging 6.8 and 6.7 points per contest, respectively. Junior Lauren McRoberts (Carmel, Ind.) leads the squad with 5.2 boards per contest, while Paulina Zaveckaite (Gainesville, Fla.) is averaging 5.0 rebounds a game.
The Spartans were picked to finish seventh in the A-Sun Preseason Coaches' Poll and fifth in the A-Sun Preseason Media Poll. Copney was a unanimous Preseason All-Conference Team pick, after averaging 15.1 points per game last season. She also averaged 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.4 steals per contest.
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