Game Highlights

Spartanburg, S.C. – Valese McAllister's layup with 16 seconds left propelled USC Upstate to a second straight one-point win as the Spartans fought back for a thrilling 63-62 triumph over the Mercer Bears Thursday evening at the Hodge Center.

The Spartans improve to 8-9 overall and 3-3 in the conference, while the Bears fall to 9-9 on the season and 2-5 in league play.

Upstate trailed by as many as seven points with 1:55 left in the game as Alicia Williams would give Mercer a 62-55 lead. Alex Stanford and Toni Romiti cut the Spartans deficit to 62-61 on back-to-back three-pointers. Romiti pulled down the rebound off Sharnea Boykin's missed layup to give Upstate an opportunity at the go-ahead basket. Brittany Clency cut through the Bears defense and hit McAllister, who put in the layup to give the Spartans a 63-62 lead.

Mercer had one last chance to score the game-winning basket as Alicia Williams got the rebound off her own missed shot allowing the Bears to call a timeout. Stanford, for the second straight game, sealed the contest for Upstate as she stole the inbound pass and ran out the clock.

The Spartans had to rally for the second straight game, but this time the comeback took place in the first half. Upstate fell behind by as many as 13 points three times in the opening stanza as Kate Alemann connected on seven of her first 10 attempts to lead all scorers with 14 points. The Spartans struggled offensively to begin the game as Alemann hit her first four shots to give Mercer a 12-4 lead with 13:31 left.

Upstate finished the first half on a 13-3 run over the final 3:23 to go into halftime down 32-29. Clency and Shelby Hicks carried the momentum into the second half as their baskets gave the Spartans a 34-33 lead just two minutes in. The two teams traded leads for the next four minutes until a three-pointer by Briana Williams put the Bears ahead 43-39 at the 13:31 mark.

Starling gave Upstate the lead back at 50-49 but would watch Mercer take it back the following possession. The Bears stretched their lead to 56-52 with 5:37 remaining as Taylor McClintock and Alicia Williams were successful on four consecutive free-throw attempts.

Stanford was able to make it a 58-55 game after her three-point play, but Mercer answered with four straight points to push their lead back to seven. The Spartans held the Bears scoreless over the final 2:26 to pick up the victory.

Upstate finished the game shooting 41.8% (23-of-55) as a team while Mercer was 25-of-64 for a 39.1% clip.

Starling led the Spartans with 14 points and seven rebounds, and was one of three players to score in double-figures. McAllister added 13 points off the bench on 5-of-5 shooting, while Stanford contributed 10. Lauren Bogle also had seven rebounds.

Alemann finished with a double-double for the Bears as she had a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Briana Williams contributed 12 points and Alicia Williams 10.

Upstate hosts Kennesaw State at 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

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