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

Box Score (PDF) 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The USC Upstate women's basketball team (11-16, 7-9 A-Sun) used a late second-half run to claim a 61-57 come-from-behind victory over North Florida (10-16, 6-9 A-Sun) Saturday afternoon in Atlantic Sun Conference action inside UNF Arena.

Down 49-40 with 10:23 left to play in the contest, the Spartans strung together an 11-2 run to knot things up for the third time at 51-51 with 6:29 remaining. The Ospreys responded with a pair of free throws and a layup to jump back in front 55-51 with just over four minutes on the clock. Upstate fought back though with a steal by freshman Brittany Clency, which turned in to a made jumper for senior Tee'Ara Copney and an assist for freshman Tweety Hawkins, putting the Spartans down two with 4:18 left.

Neither team scored on the next few possessions until the 2:19 mark, when Upstate freshman Brittany Starling gathered an offensive rebound and made the put-back layup to tie the score at 55-55. North Florida responded on the other end of the floor, when Ki Conner fed Raneisha Lamar for the layup as UNF took a 57-55 lead with just under two minutes to play.

The bucket by Lamar would prove to be the last for the Ospreys as Upstate held them scoreless for the remaining 1:51. Clency netted the equalizer on the next possession, which was soon followed by a steal from Starling, giving the Spartans the ball with 1:06. UNF fouled Copney on the play, sending her to the line to shoot the one-and-one. The 89.7-percent free throw shooter made both, putting Upstate in front 59-57 with 58 seconds on the clock.

The Spartans played solid defense in the final seconds of the contest forcing a pair of turnovers as sophomore Shelby Hicks collected a steal with seven seconds to go and Upstate up two. The Ospreys fouled Copney again and she drained a pair at the line, giving the Spartans a four-point lead and the final 61-57 win.

Upstate was led by a trio of scorers reaching double figures as Copney and Hawkins led the way with a game-high 13 points each. Copney was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, while Hawkins went 6-for-9 from the floor. Starling rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Spartans, tallying 10 points to mark her fifth-straight double figure scoring effort.

Hicks paced Upstate on the boards, pulling down five rebounds to go along with four points, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Copney swiped a game-best four steals, while recording four boards and dishing out three assists. Starling also snagged four rebounds, while Hawkins handed out three assists as well.

The Ospreys were led by Lamar with a game-high 13 points, while Conner added 12 points. Jadhken Kerr tallied 11 points and pulled down a team-best nine boards for UNF, while Lamar had eight rebounds. Destinee Smith gave out a game-best four assists for North Florida, while Fabiola Josil gathered a team-high three steals.

Overall, the Spartans shot 45.3 percent from the floor and 31.6 percent from long distance, while UNF was 40.4 percent from floor and 21.1 percent from behind the arc. At the line, Upstate was 87.5 percent, connecting on 7-of-8 attempts, while North Florida shot 93.8 percent from the charity stripe, going 15-for-16.

The Ospreys won the battle of the boards 35-24, while Upstate claimed the contest of the second chances 10-4. The Spartans outscored UNF in the paint 24-20 and off of turnovers 23-11. Upstate committed 13 turnovers, compared to North Florida's 23.

The Spartans return to action Monday, Feb. 25, staying in the city of Jacksonville, Fla., to take on Jacksonville University at 7 p.m. in A-Sun play. Follow Upstate women's basketball this season on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.