FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Parker, kparker@uscupstate.edu

Box Score (PDF)

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball team (3-5) held on to claim a 51-48 victory Tuesday night at Western Carolina (2-3), snapping a two-game skid as senior Tee'Ara Copney (Asheville, N.C.) paced the team with a game-high 18 points.

After taking on three nationally ranked teams so far this season, the Spartans opened the first half ready to execute their offense. In the opening period, Upstate shot 65.0 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from long distance. The Spartans went on a 12-0 run, taking a 14-point lead with 7:18 on the clock in the first frame. Western Carolina managed to cut the deficit to 10 at the break as the Spartans took a 33-23 lead into the locker room.

In the second half, the Catamounts went to work slowly chipping away at the Spartans' lead. WCU managed to tie things up at 46-46 off of a made free throw from Lindsay Simpson with 1:14 left to play. Upstate called its final timeout to regroup and set up a play with 51 seconds on the clock. The strategy paid off as Copney gave the Spartans the lead off of a made layup with 39 seconds to go.

A missed shot by Western Carolina and rebound by Upstate senior Hannah Ohl (Danville, Ill.) forced WCU to stop the clock by fouling, sending Ohl to the line to shoot two. The senior netted a pair, pushing the Spartans up 50-46 with 24 seconds to play. A Catamount layup cut the score to 50-48 with 16 seconds left. Upstate inbounded the ball and two ticks came off the clock before Western Carolina could foul freshman Travonda Haddock (Pollocksville, N.C.). The Spartan rookie went to the line to shoot two. Making the first free throw and missing second, Haddock gave Upstate the 51-48 advantage with 14 seconds left.

With a chance to tie things up, the Catamounts instead opted to put up a shot inside the three-point arc. Upstate freshman Tweety Hawkins (Madison, Ga.) rebounded the missed shot and held on for the final three seconds as the Spartans earned their third win of a the season.

Three Upstate players registered double-figures, including Copney with 18 points. Freshman Brittany Starling (Sumter, S.C.) posted her third double-digit point outing, recording 12, while going 5-for-5 from the floor. Ohl tallied 10 points, marking her first double-figure performance on the season. Junior Valese McAllister (Twin City, Ga.) helped the Spartan offense with six points, connecting on 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.

Starling led Upstate in rebounding, snagging a game-high seven. Copney was second on the team, pulling down six boards, while McAllister and sophomore Shelby Hicks (Greeneville, Tenn.) collected five rebounds each.

Western Carolina was led by a trio of scorers, putting up eight points each in Diamond Hunnicutt, Hana Haden and Rena Wakama. Simpson was second on the squad with seven points, while Kristen Lyon added six. Shauna Terry grabbed a game-high seven rebounds for WCU, while Hunnicutt helped with five boards.

The Spartans shot 50.0 percent on the night from the floor, while going 26.7 percent from long distance. The Catamounts struggled, posting a 26.3 field goal percentage and 16.7 percent from three-point range. At the line, Upstate was 60.0 percent compared to WCU's 66.7 percent. Despite committing more fouls (21) than Upstate (16), Western Carolina had more trips to the free throw line, connecting on 16-of-24 compared to Upstate's 9-of-15.

Western Carolina won the battle of the boards 39-33, grabbing 19 offensive boards and 20 defensive. Upstate snagged only four off of the offensive glass and 29 while on defense. The Spartans recorded 19 turnovers on the night, while WCU turned the ball over 13 times.

The Spartans return to action Monday, Dec. 3, hosting UNC Asheville for a 7 p.m. nonconference contest in the Hodge Center. Follow Upstate women's basketball this season on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.