Box Score (.pdf)

Jacksonville, Fla. – Kristen Dickerson scored a game-high 19 points to lead four Spartans in double-figures as the USC Upstate women's basketball team held off the North Florida Ospreys for a 75-61 victory Saturday afternoon inside UNF Arena.

Upstate improves to 18-9 on the season and 9-3 in conference play, while North Florida falls to 6-12 overall and 2-10 in the A-Sun.

Dickerson finished the game shooting 8-of-9 from the field including a 3-for-3 mark from behind the three-point line. The senior also had five rebounds and two assists. Brittany Starling added 18 points and tied for a team-high seven rebounds along with Travonda Haddock. Brittany Clency collected 15 points and Raven Jefferson 13. Jefferson also dished out five assists.

Kadesia Johnson was one of four Ospreys to finish with at least 10 points after concluding with 18 and seven rebounds.  Karrah Johnson and Maiya Rumph both grabbed seven rebounds along with Kadesia Johnson, while Sierra Shepherd tallied five assists.

Clency opened the game for the Spartans with back-to-back three's to give them the early 6-0 lead just over two minutes into the contest. North Florida answered with a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 14-10 lead capped by Claire Ioannidis' triple with 2:35 left in the quarter. Upstate finished the period on a 6-0 run with Starling scoring the final four, giving the Spartans a 16-14 lead after the first quarter.

Upstate continued its run into the second period as Jefferson connected on a three-pointer to increase its lead to 19-14 at the 8:49 mark. Dickerson scored 12 of her 19 points in the second quarter highlighted by a perfect 5-of-5 shooting mark including three three-pointers. Following a three by Jefferson, Hadley Kiefer answered with a layup to cut the Spartans lead back to three, 19-16, with 7:31 left. Upstate led by as many as 14 twice in the second quarter with both coming in the final 1:18. Dickerson recorded the team's final five points with the last, a three-pointer, sending the Spartans into halftime leading 37-23.

Upstate led by at least 13 for a majority of the third quarter with the Ospreys cutting the score to as close as 10 three times. The last of those came at the 3:51 mark when Shepherd's layup made the score 46-36. The Spartans recorded the final nine points of the period, while holding UNF scoreless over the last 3:50, to lead 55-36 heading into the fourth quarter.

Upstate built its lead over North Florida to a game-high 21 twice during the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. Haddock made two free throws just 13 seconds into the period, and Jefferson later gave the Spartans a 61-40 lead with 7:33 remaining after her layup. The Ospreys used a 14-3 run over nearly a four minute stretch to trim Upstate's lead down to 64-54 capped by two Kadesia Johnson free throws with 3:33 to go. North Florida would only get as close as 10 the rest of the way as the Spartans sealed the win at the charity stripe, making seven over the game's final 2:30. Clency's two free throws with 26 seconds remaining gave Upstate the 75-61 victory.

The Spartans finished the game shooting 49.0% (25-of-51) as a team highlighted by over 50.0% in both the second and third quarters. The Ospreys were 39.0% (23-of-59) from the floor. Upstate outscored UNF 24-20 in the paint and 20-11 in points off turnovers.

The Spartans remain in the River City Monday evening as they face Jacksonville at 7 p.m. from Historic Swisher Gym.

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