Box Score
Box Score (.pdf)
Spartanburg, S.C. - Brittany Starling became the all-time school leader in rebounds while Brittany Clency surpassed the 1,000 career point mark as USC Upstate defeated Lipscomb 93-71 on Saturday in the Hodge Center.
Upstate improves to 15-8 and 6-2 in the Atlantic Sun, while Lipscomb falls to 3-20 and 0-8.
Raven Jefferson led Upstate with 18 points. Starling scored 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds giving the senior 992 for her career, surpassing the previous school record of 991 held by Yakeeshia Ross. Clency scored 15 points to become the 16th player in school history to score 1,000 career points and had a season-high seven assists. Travonda Haddock and Kristen Dickerson scored 10 points each as all five Spartan starters finished in double figures for the second time this season. Tamera Thorpe led Upstate off the bench with 12 points.
Chandler Cooper led Lipscomb with 15 points, followed by Alex Banks with 12 and Kelli Smith with 11. Smith led the Lady Bisons with five rebounds.
Cooper gave the visitors an early 3-0 lead as she hit a three-pointer at the 6:37 mark. Upstate went on an 11-0 run capped by a pair of Dickerson free throws to take an 11-3 lead with 4:27 to play. Cooper answered with a three-pointer to pull the Lady Bisons within five before the Spartans led 28-12 after the opening period thanks to a Clency jumper.
With Upstate holding a 34-18 lead at the 7:06 mark of the second quarter, Lipscomb went on a 6-0 run which cut the Spartan lead to 34-24 following a Smith three-pointer. Upstate closed the second quarter on a 19-6 run to lead 53-30 at halftime. The 53-point output was the most by Upstate in the first half this season.
Three-pointers by Smith and Cooper trimmed the Upstate advantage to 55-36 with 7:28 to play in the third quarter. After Upstate pushed its lead to 21 points, Morgan Turner sank a pair of free throws to make the score 59-40 with 4:51 to go in the period. Jefferson's three-pointer at the 3:52 mark gave the hosts a 64-40 lead. Clency beat the buzzer with a three-pointer for the final points of the frame as the Spartans led 73-51 after 30 minutes.
Starling recorded her record-breaking rebound on the defensive glass, pulling down a missed Riley Northway jumper at the 7:35 mark for her 992nd career rebound. Clency surpassed the 1,000-mark on a jumper with 5:15 remaining that gave Upstate an 89-57 lead. The Spartans led by as many as 32 points before Lipscomb closed the game on a 14-4 run with a Jessica Davies jumper serving as the final points of the contest.
Upstate finished 32-for-61 from the field for a season-best 52.5%. Lipscomb was 24-for-58 (41.4%) from the field but a perfect 14-for-14 at the free throw line. Upstate outscored Lipscomb 34-18 in the paint.
The Spartans travel to Kennesaw State on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest
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