Box Score (.pdf)

Spartanburg, S.C. - Brittany Starling's fourth consecutive double-double propelled the USC Upstate women's basketball team to a 68-46 non-conference victory over the North Carolina Central Lady Eagles on Saturday in the Hodge Center.

Upstate improves to 7-6 overall while N.C. Central drops to 1-8.

Starling surpassed the 20-point mark for the 12^th time in her career with 23 points and was 10-for-12 from the field. She secured her seventh double-double of the season thanks to 14 rebounds, 12 of which came on the defensive glass. She also moved into the top 10 all-time in scoring with 1,233 career points. Brittany Clency scored 14 points while Raven Jefferson also finished in double figures with 11. Vanessa Agrusa dished out a career-high four assists while DeNisha Swain tied a career-high with four steals. A'Lexxus Davis tied a career-high with five points.

Rodneysha Martin led North Carolina Central with nine points, followed by Monique Whaley-Briggs and Jayla Calhoun with eight. Maya Jackson led the Lady Eagles with six rebounds.

Dickerson got the Spartans on the board with a layup following a steal before the Lady Eagles evened the score with a Dominique Adams jumper. Upstate used a 9-0 run capped by a Starling layup to take an 11-2 lead before Jackson ended the NCCU scoring drought. A Clency jumper with 1:54 to play in the quarter gave Upstate a 14-4 lead before the Lady Eagles cut the Spartan advantage to 14-8 thanks to a Jackson free throw and a three-pointer by Martin. Upstate led 16-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Upstate held the Lady Eagles to seven points in the second quarter as the Spartans took a 39-17 lead heading into halftime. The Spartans opened the frame on a 15-0 run capped by a Jefferson three-pointer with 2:58 to play before Tisha Dixon broke a Lady Eagle scoring drought of over eight minutes with a jumper with 2:36 remaining in the quarter. Dixon would convert a free throw to cut the Spartan advantage to 33-13 before a pair of Upstate baskets gave the hosts a 35-13 edge. Jefferson beat the buzzer with a jumper from the right side for the final points of the half. The Spartans shot 63% from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

Starling completed the old-fashioned three-point play to give Upstate a 42-17 lead before Whaley-Briggs sank a three-pointer to cut the advantage to 42-20 in the third quarter. A Starling layup with 7:21 remaining gave the Spartans a 52-22 lead. Whaley-Briggs hit a three-pointer to cut the Spartan lead to 54-28 before a Tamera Thorpe jumper pushed the Upstate lead back to 57-28. Calhoun's jumper with six seconds left served as the final points of the quarter as Upstate led 59-32 following the first 30 minutes.

North Carolina Central opened the fourth quarter on a 6-1 run, cutting the Upstate advantage to 60-38 with 8:14 to play. Starling finished her afternoon with three consecutive layups on assists by Agrusa to push the Spartan lead to 66-38 at the 6:20 mark. North Carolina Central finished the game on an 8-2 run as Chantal Thomas sank a free throw with 34 seconds left for the final point of the game.

The Spartans were 29-for-58 (50.0%) from the field while N.C. Central was 17-for-60 (28.3%). The Lady Eagles were 9-for-14 (64.3%) at the free throw line while Upstate was 6-for-11 (54.5%) at the charity stripe. Upstate outrebounded N.C. Central 43-39 and had a 38-8 advantage in points in the paint. The Lady Eagles reserves outscored the Spartan bench 23-12.

Upstate returns to action on Dec. 30, welcoming Mars Hill to the Hodge Center at 5 p.m.

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