Box Score Newark, N.J. – Travonda Haddock scored a career-high 20 points as USC Upstate won their Atlantic Sun opener 58-41 over NJIT on Saturday afternoon.
USC Upstate improves to 10-6 overall and 1-0 in the Atlantic Sun while NJIT drops to 3-12 and 0-1.
Haddock's 20-point effort eclipsed her preview career-high of 17 set against Mars Hill on December 29 as she finished 8-for-11 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 at the free throw line. Brittany Clency added 12 points. Brittany Starling pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds. Upstate outscored NJIT 44-14 in the paint.
Alana Dudley led the Highlanders with 12 points, followed by Ronni Grandison and Leah Horton with nine points each. Horton had a game-high nine rebounds.
Upstate opened the game with layups by Haddock and Clency before a pair of Dudley free throws got the hosts on the board. A Starling layup gave Upstate an 8-3 lead with 4:45 to play before a Grandison free throw cut the Spartan lead to 10-8 at the 1:21 mark. Clency pushed the Upstate advantage back to four with a layup with 26 seconds remaining as Upstate led 12-9 after the opening quarter.
Following a Grandison jumper at the 8:39 mark to cut the Upstate lead to 13-11, a Clency layup sparked a 12-0 Upstate run over the next 6:23 for a 23-11 Spartan advantage. Alana Dudley's three-pointer with 1:04 remaining cut the Spartan lead to 25-15 before Starling hit a layup just before the buzzer to give Upstate a 27-15 halftime lead.
The Spartans opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run after jumpers from Kristen Dickerson and Haddock followed by Haddock completing the old-fashioned three-point play for a 34-15 edge with 8:31 to play in the quarter. NJIT responded as Guarino sank a three-pointer to begin a 10-2 run to cut the Spartan lead to 36-25 at the 4:12 mark. Starling ended the Highlander run with a layup followed by a Haddock three-pointer for a 41-25 Upstate lead with 3:36 remaining. Tamera Thorpe hit a jumper from the key as the third quarter ended to give the Spartans a 45-29 advantage following 30 minutes of play.
After a Jefferson three-pointer pushed the Upstate lead to 50-31, NJIT used a 6-0 run capped by an Ireland three-pointer to pull within 14, 50-36, with 5:53 remaining in the game. The Spartans responded with an 8-0 run as A'Lexxus Davis gave Upstate a game-high 22 point lead, 58-36, with just over two minutes to play. A Horton jumper with four seconds remaining was the final basket of the game.
The Spartans finished 25-for-57 (43.9%) from the field while NJIT was 15-for-49 (30.6%). Upstate outrebounded NJIT 42-27 and held a 21-1 edge in 2nd chance points. The Spartans held a 19-5 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Upstate travels to Florida Gulf Coast next Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest.
Follow Upstate women's basketball on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
