Upstate Kicks Off 2014-15 Season Friday Night at Iowa
11/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball team opens its 41st season of competition Friday evening when it travels to Iowa City, Iowa to face the 19th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. EDT from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Upstate had one of its best seasons in the Division I era last year as it went 17-15 overall and 11-7 in the A-Sun to finish fourth in the conference standings. The Spartans advanced to the semifinals of the A-Sun Tournament for the first time in program history, and also received their second bid into the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament. The 17 wins compiled by Upstate is tied for second-most in a season since joining Division I while the 11 conference wins rank third.
"I am looking forward to getting the season started," said head coach Tammy George, who will be entering her 10th season with the Spartans. "It will be exciting to see this team in action and watch our growth. We will compete and play hard."
Upstate returns nine letterwinners from last season including all five starters led by Second Team All-Conference performer Brittany Clency and Preseason All-Conference Brittany Starling. Clency led the Spartans in scoring last year with 11.9 points per game, while adding 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. The junior scored in double-figures 21 times highlighted by a 22-point performance in the A-Sun Tournament against East Tennessee State. Starling pulled down a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game in 2013-14 and was second in scoring at 10.5 points per contest. She was named Preseason All-Conference for the second straight year after compiling seven double-doubles and 17 games with 10 or more points.
Also returning are starters Lauren Bogle, Shelby Hicks and Raven Jefferson. Bogle led the team in steals with 36 after appearing in 31 games. Hicks had a team-best 26 blocks last season, and Jefferson was one of two players, along with Starling, to play in all 32 games and started in a team-high 29 contests.
Four other players also coming back for the Spartans are Travonda Haddock, Alex Stanford, Sharmayne Edwards and Maddie Herr.
A total of seven players will be joining the team this season consisting of five freshmen and two juniors. The seven newcomers are: Nora Berry, Briana McCrimmon, Elesha Foster, Coco Ritter, Mar'Lisa Braxton, Kristen Dickerson and A'Lexxus Davis.
Iowa, who plays in the Big Ten Conference, is ranked No. 19 in Preseason Associated Press Top 25 Poll and 26th (receiving votes) in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Hawkeyes advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season where they dropped an 83-53 decision to Louisville. Under the direction of 15th-year head coach Lisa Bluder, Iowa returns 10 letterwinners from last year's team that went 27-9 overall.
Upstate and Iowa will be meeting on the hardwood for the first time Friday night.
Fans can follow the game online at www.upstatespartans.com with links to live stats and audio. A subscription is required to listen to the game audio. Updates will also be posted on the Upstate women's basketball Twitter page (@UpstateWB).
The Spartans head to Ames, Iowa Sunday afternoon as they take on Iowa State at 1:30 p.m.
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