Box Score (.pdf)

Spartanburg, S.C. – Brittany Clency scored a career-high 27 points, and Brittany Starling added 22 points and 25 rebounds, to lead four Spartans in double-figures as the USC Upstate women's basketball team earned an 84-81 victory over the IPFW Mastodons Saturday afternoon inside Memorial Coliseum.

Upstate recorded its third straight victory and improves to 4-1 overall, while IPFW falls to 3-1.

Clency surpassed her old career-high by five points after finishing the contest 9-of-18 from the field and was 9-of-11 at the charity stripe. Starling collected her third straight double-double after setting a new career-high of 25 rebounds, which is the highest total turned in this season by an A-Sun player. Her 25 rebounds also rank second-most in a game in school history, falling just two shy of tying the record of 27 posted by Gwen Proctor in 1986. Travonda Haddock added a season-high 12 points and Tamera Thorpe also contributed 12.

Kamilah Carter led the Mastodons with 24 points and was joined in double-digits by KeShyra McCarver (20) and Josie Fisher (17). Courtney Ogle and De'Jour Young each had 10 rebounds.

Haddock gave the Spartans an early 5-2 lead in the first quarter with her only three-pointer of the afternoon, but IPFW answered back to tie the game 11-11 just over two minutes later on a layup by McCarver at the 4:44 mark. The Mastodons concluded the period on an 11-5 run to lead 21-16 capped by McCarver's three with 28 seconds left.

IPFW built its lead out to seven, 23-16, to begin the second quarter after Carver's layup. Upstate rallied back with an 11-5 run of its own over the next 2:21 to even the score at 31-31 following a pair of free throws by Clency. Raven Jefferson added two more free throws less than a minute later to give the Spartans the lead back at 33-31. After the Mastodons retook the lead 36-34 with 2:47 left, Upstate scored five of the final six points to lead 39-38 at intermission.

The teams traded points for the opening 6:14 of the third quarter until Starling reeled off four straight for the Spartans to give them the lead back at 51-47 with three minutes to go. Clency gave Upstate its largest advantage of the period two possessions later as her layup made the score 53-48 at the 2:09 mark. Thorpe sent the Spartans into the final quarter leading 59-56 after her field goal with 26 seconds left.

Upstate took its largest lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter when Jefferson's basket put the score at 70-61. The Spartans maintained the nine-point cushion during its next offensive series after another field goal by Starling. IPFW got as close as three late after a free throw by Fisher trimmed Upstate's lead to 81-78 with one minute remaining. The Spartans sealed the victory at the charity stripe as Clency and Starling combined for three free throws to go back up 84-78. Fisher hit a last-second three to put the final score at 84-81.

Upstate finished the game shooting 39.1% (27-of-69) and made a season-high 28 free throws. The Spartans have connected on at least 20 free throws in each of the last three contests. Upstate also held the advantage in points in the paint (36-28), points off turnovers (13-5), second chance points (17-7) and fast break points (2-0).

The Mastodons went 27-of-65 overall for a 41.5% mark from the field.

The Spartans continue their three-game road trip Monday evening at 7 p.m. against Michigan.

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