Box Score (.pdf) 

Spartanburg, S.C. – Playing in what could be their final game at the Hodge Center, seniors Brittany Starling, Kristen Dickerson, Brittany Clency and Travonda Haddock each finished in double-figures as USC Upstate defeated Western Illinois 81-78 to advance to the Final Four of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament. 

Starling recorded her 20^th double-double of the season with a team-leading 23 points and 11 rebounds. She finished 10-for-14 from the field.  Dickerson added 17 points, followed by Clency with 16 and Haddock with 11. Tamera Thorpe scored 10 points off of the bench for the Spartans.

Sophie Reichelt scored 23 points to lead the Leathernecks, followed by Michelle Maher with 22, Emily Clemens with 13 and Taylor Higginbotham with 12. 

After a Maher three-pointer tied the contest at 71-71 with 2:17 remaining, Clency hit a jumper that allowed Upstate to retake the lead, followed by a Starling layup. Mallory Boyle slashed the Spartan lead in half on the next WIU possession, only to have Clency answer with a jumper that gave Upstate a 77-73 edge with 36 seconds to go. 

Following a pair of Maher free throws, Starling completed the three-point play to give the Spartans an 80-75 lead with 16 seconds left. Western Illinois didn't go quietly, as Reichelt brought the visitors to within two on a three with eight seconds left. Clency made the first of two free throws with five seconds remaining but time expired before the Leathernecks could make a game-tying attempt. 

Upstate opened the game with a Starling layup before the Leathernecks took their first lead on a Maher three-pointer. Following a Boyle three-pointer that tied the game at 15-15, Upstate went on a 9-0 for a 24-15 lead with 25 seconds to go in the opening period. The nine-point advantage was the largest lead enjoyed by either team. Upstate led 24-18 after the first quarter. 

Starling gave Upstate a 26-18 edge at the 9:41 mark of the second quarter only to see the Leathernecks tie the game 28-28 thanks to a Maher layup at the 7:05 mark. Reichelt gave WIU a 40-38 lead with 50 seconds to go in the half, but Upstate answered with a Thorpe layup to tie the contest at 40-40 with 34 seconds to go. Western Illinois led 42-40 at halftime thanks to a Higginbotham layup with two seconds to play in the half. The Leathernecks finished the first 20 minutes 16-for-31 (51.6%) from the field and 6-for-12 (50%) from behind the three-point line. 

Clency tied the game at 42-42 following a jumper early in the third quarter before WIU took a 47-42 lead with 5:16 to play, its largest advantage of the game. Upstate pulled even at 47 apiece following Dickerson's three-point play and a Starling layup with 3:57 to go. Following a Maher layup that gave the visitors a 57-54 lead with six seconds left, Clency beat the buzzer with a three-pointer that tied the game heading into the final quarter. 

A Clemens layup at the 7:02 mark of the fourth quarter give the visitors a 65-61 lead before Upstate drew even on a Starling layup with 4:05 to play. The Spartans took a 71-68 lead on a Clency three-pointer with 2:33 remaining before Maher hit a three-pointer 16 seconds later to set the stage for the finish. 

Western Illinois finished 29-for-65 (44.6%) from the field and 12-for-26 (46.2%) from the three-point line. Upstate went 30-for-77 (39.0%) from the field and was 3-for-9 (33.0%) from behind the arc. The Spartans held a 50-40 rebounding edge and 44-28 advantage in the paint. The game featured 14 ties and eight lead changes. 

Upstate will travel to the winner of Sunday's Weber State/North Dakota matchup in a WBI semifinal next week.

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