SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball team (8-20, 7-10 A-Sun) dropped a 76-63 decision to Florida Gulf Coast (25-2, 17-0 A-Sun) tonight in the Hodge Center.

FGCU led wire-to-wire, starting the game on a 10-2 run. The Eagles took a 44-24 lead into the locker room at the intermission. The second stanza didn't look much better for the Spartans as the Eagles went on a 20-6 run at the beginning of the half, extending their lead to 34 points with 14:37 to play. Over the remaining minutes, Upstate slowly chipped away at the deficit and cut it to a final 13-point loss of 76-63.

The Spartans were led by junior Tee'Ara Copney (Asheville, N.C.) with 18 points. Freshman Paulina Zaveckaite (Telsiai, Lithuania) was second on the team with 14 points, snagging a game-high eight rebounds. Copney was a perfect 5-for-5 from the line, while Zaveckaite connected on 8-of-13 free throws. Sophomore Erin Pinkett (Cambridge, Md.) and junior Lauren McRoberts (Carmel, Ind.) added nine and eight points, respectively for the Spartan offense.

Copney also pulled down four boards for Upstate, while McRoberts and Pinkett each grabbed three. Junior Tyra Smith (Lawrenceville, Ga.) dished out a game-high nine assists, tying her career-high set against Norfolk State Nov. 21, 2011.

The Eagles were led by Sarah Hansen with 22 points and Courtney Chihil with 15 points. Chilhil handed out a team-high six assists for the FGCU, while Brittany Kennedy and Whitney Knight recorded nine points apiece. Kennedy, Knight and Sarah Whitfield registered a team-best four rebounds each.

Upstate shot 43.8 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from behind the arc. However, the Spartans, who are normally strong from the free throw line, struggled, going 63.0 percent from the line. Upstate ranks seventh in the nation in free throw percentage, shooting 76.7 percent on the season.

FGCU boasted a 55.4 field goal percentage in the Hodge, while going 40.0 percent from long distance and 66.7 percent at the charity stripe. The Eagles turned the ball over 22 times, compared to the Spartans' 24 turnovers. FGCU outscored Upstate in the paint 46-20, while Upstate bested FGCU in points off of turnovers 28-24. The Eagles won the battle of the boards 31-29, while the Spartans claimed the contest of second chances 11-9. The FGCU bench outscored the Upstate bench 22-19.  

Upstate returns to action Saturday, Feb. 25, closing out regular season play against Stetson at 4:30 p.m. for Senior Day. Follow the Spartans this season on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.