Box Score (.pdf)

Norfolk, Va. – Kristen Dickerson scored a career-high 22 points, and Raven Jefferson added 19, to lift the USC Upstate women's basketball team to an 82-62 victory over the Norfolk State Spartans in its season opener Friday evening inside Echols Hall.

Upstate moves to 1-0 to start the year while Norfolk State drops to 0-1 overall.

Dickerson finished the game shooting 69.2% (9-of-13) and added four assists as the Spartans pick up their first season-opening victory since 2013-14 when they defeated Maryland Eastern Shore 87-83 on the road. Jefferson contributed 19 points, falling just two shy of setting a new career-high, to go with eight rebounds and five assists. Together, the duo combined for half of Upstate's 82 points. Brittany Clency added 13 points and Brittany Starling contributed a game-high 15 rebounds.

Kayla Roberts led NSU with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Koryn Lawrence contributed 10 points.

Dickerson connected on her opening two attempts, both three's, to give the Spartans a 6-4 lead less than two minutes into the first quarter. The senior continued her hot shooting at the 6:06 mark of the opening quarter as her three-point play gave Upstate a 13-4 cushion, capping a 10-0 run. Jefferson put the Spartans in front by double-digits at 17-6 following her layup, and Tamera Thorpe followed less than a minute later to give Upstate its largest lead of the quarter at 21-6 with her three. Dickerson's jumper with four seconds remaining gave the Spartans a 26-15 lead after the first quarter.

Norfolk State trimmed its deficit to eight midway through the second quarter after a Roberts free throw with 7:38 left cut the Upstate lead to 29-21. Jefferson answered with a three the following possession to put the Spartans back in front by 11. Upstate held at least a 12-point cushion the rest of the quarter with Clency's jumper sending the Spartans into the locker room leading 45-33.

Upstate broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring NSU 26-12, beginning with a three by Travonda Haddock 39 seconds into the frame. Jefferson made it a 54-33 game with 7:38 to go before Norfolk State scored five straight over an 18-second span to be down 54-38. Dickerson answered with a three and Starling added a jumper as the Spartans took a 59-38 advantage, and would lead by at least 20 the rest of the way. Upstate maintained a 71-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter on Starling's layup with four seconds left.

The Spartans took their largest lead of the game early in the fourth quarter when Dickerson's jumper with 9:26 to go made it 73-45. Upstate led by 25 for most of the final period with the last coming at the 4:28 mark when Shayla Tanner got NSU to 77-52. Starling came back the next possession with a free throw to increase the Spartan lead to 78-52. Lawrence and Ashante Doby recorded the game's last four points for Norfolk State to put the final score at 82-62.

Upstate finished the game shooting 43.4% (33-for-76) as a team, 28.0% (7-for-25) from behind the three-point line and 69.2% (9-for-13) at the free-throw line. The Spartans also held at 48-39 advantage in rebounding.

NSU went 22-of-62 overall for a 35.5% clip from the field and connected on just two of its five three-pointers.

Upstate travels to Maryland Eastern Shore Sunday afternoon for a 2 p.m. matchup.

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