Spartans Host George Washington for a Pre-Thanksgiving Meeting
11/20/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Parker, kparker@uscupstate.edu
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball team (2-3) welcomes George Washington (2-1) to the Hodge Center Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. as the Spartans host Hoops for Hunger, benefiting the campus S.N.A.C. Program.
Fans who bring five canned goods will receive free admission to the game. The mission of the Spartan Nutritional Assistance Campaign (SNAC) is to provide food, nutritional information and other basic necessities to the USC Upstate students in need, as well as education the campus population on poverty and hunger.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
This will be the first meeting between George Washington and Upstate. The Colonials are 2-1 this season, picking up wins over UT Arlington and William & Mary.
GW defeated UT Arlington 80-47 at home for its season-opener. The Colonials then dropped a 56-52 decision on the road at Rutgers Nov. 14, before beating William & Mary 58-51 at home again Nov. 18.
Tara Booker leads George Washington on the season, averaging 11.7 points per game. Megan Nipe and Danni Jackson have averaged 10.7 and 10.0 points an outing, respectively. Booker posted a season-high 20 points against William & Mary, while Nipe was second on the team with 12 points.
Sara Mostafa paces GW with 6.7 rebounds per game. Booker, Nipe and Brooke Wilson all are averaging 6.0 boards per contest.
Booker and Dani Jackson were both named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Third Team after tying for the team lead with 12.0 points per game last season. They headline a group of eight returning players, which includes three fifth-year seniors and three traditional seniors.
The Colonials are led by first-year head coach Jonathan Tsipis. Under his leadership, George Washington is 2-1 for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
SPARTAN QUICK HITS
• Upstate improved to 4-2 in home-openers over the last five years with an 83-26 win over St. Andrews Monday night. Senior Tee'Ara Copney led the team with 19 points, while freshman Tweety Hawkins recorded 13 points.
• The Spartans closed-out their four-game road swing, taking a 75-45 loss at No. 14/19 West Virginia Saturday. Upstate opened the season with two-straight losses as the Spartans dropped contests at Purdue Nov. 10 and at Old Dominion Nov. 13.
• Upstate picked-up its first win of the season at Norfolk State Nov. 15 with a 71-64 come-from-behind overtime win.
• Senior Tyra Smith recorded a team-high 10 points at WVU Nov. 17.
• Freshman center Brittany Starling sparkled for Upstate Nov. 13 at Old Dominion, pacing the team with 17 points. She was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor. The rookie posted double-figures again Nov. 15 at Norfolk state, recording 10 points.
• Copney led the Spartans against the Boilermakers Nov. 10, posting 16 points, while Starling pulled down a team-high five rebounds. Copney also led Upstate against NSU Nov. 15 with another 16 points.
• Freshman Tweety Hawkins was second on the team against NSU, putting up 14 points.
• Copney was named to the 2012-13 Preseason All-Atlantic Sun Team, after averaging 15.7 points per game last season and ranking third in the A-Sun in scoring average. She was an All-Conference First Team selection at the end of the 2011-12 season.
• Upstate has a difficult nonconference slate this season with four NCAA Tournament teams from last year on the docket, including three teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 and ESPN/USA Today Poll in Kentucky, West Virginia and Purdue.
