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Contact: Katie Parker, kparker@uscupstate.edu

Box Score (PDF)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Despite cutting a 17-point deficit down to three at one point, the USC Upstate women's basketball team (4-6) enter the Holiday break after dropping a 77-67 decision to High Point (5-5) Sunday afternoon inside the Hodge Center.

High Point led from wire to wire as the Panthers jumped out to a 19-2 lead. After not playing in nearly two weeks, Upstate shook the cobwebs off and responded with a 7-0 run. The Spartans slowly chipped away at the deficit and pulled within four-points (25-21) off of a three-pointer from senior Hannah Ohl (Danville, Ill.).

HPU answered back with a made jumper, pushing the score to 27-21 with 5:12 to play in the first half. Less than a minute later, Upstate capitalized on a missed Panther jumper as senior Tee'Ara Copney (Asheville, N.C.) rebounded the ball and found the hands of Ohl again. Ohl netted the three-ball to complete the fast-break. However, the three-point disadvantage would be the closest the Spartans would get that half. The Panthers closed out the first frame with an eight-point advantage (34-26).

The second period started out a little better for Upstate as Ohl drained her third trey of the game, putting the Spartans down five. HPU hit another jumper, but Upstate followed with a pair of buckets from Copney and senior Lauren McRoberts (Carmel, Ind.), cutting the Panther lead back down to three (36-33) with 17:37 on the clock.

High Point responded with a 13-4 run, taking a 49-37 advantage with 13:44 to go and never looked back. Another three-pointer from Ohl pulled Upstate back within single digits, trailing 49-40. HPU then put up nine unanswered points, putting the Spartans in an 18-point hole.

Upstate then went to work and slowly got back in the game as a three-ball from Copney with 3:01 to play put the score at 69-62. Seven-points would prove to be the closest the Spartans would get the rest of the contest as Upstate fouls put the Panthers on the line. High Point claimed the eventual 77-67 win.

The Spartans were led by Copney with a season-high 22 points to go along with a team-high five rebounds, a team-best five steals and four assists. The 22 points was the highest for a Spartan this season. The last time an Upstate player scored 20 points was Feb. 25, 2012, when Copney recorded 22 points against Stetson. She connected on three-of-five three-pointers, while going 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. The miss at the line was Copney's first of the season as she leads the team in free throw percentage with 92.3, making 12-of-13.

Ohl posted a season-high 17 points, just one shy of her career-high 18 points. She led all scorers on the day from long distance, connecting on five-of-eight. The five three-pointers is a career-high for Ohl and marks the first time an Upstate player has made five treys in game since March 17, 2011 against Elon, when Copney netted six.

Other noteworthy Spartans include McRoberts, who recorded nine points and pulled down a team-high five boards to go along with two steals. Senior Tyra Smith (Lawrenceville, Ga.) handed out a game-high five assists, while freshman Tweety Hawkins (Madison, Ga.) scored six points and dished out three assists.

High Point was led by a trio of players scoring double-figures as Stacia Robertson paced the squad with a game-high 23 points, while Cheyenne Parker registered a double-double of 22 points and a game-best 21 rebounds. Parker also collected a contest-high six blocked shots and swiped five steals, while Robertson snagged eight boards and five steals. Tayler Tremblay added 14 points for the Panthers and grabbed five rebounds, while giving out three assists.

The Spartans shot better than they have in their last two home games with a 43.9 field goal percentage on the day, while shooting 56.3 percent from behind the arc. HPU shot just 38.2 percent from the floor and 30.0 percent from three-point range. However, rebounding proved to be the difference in the game as the Panthers won the battle of the boards 58-31 and the contest of second chances 21-13. High Point outscored Upstate in the paint 34-14.

The Spartans return to action Saturday, Dec. 29, closing out nonconference play by hosting Furman for a 4:30 p.m. contest in the Hodge Center. Follow Upstate women's basketball this season on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.