Box Score (pdf)

Spartanburg, S.C. – Vanessa Agrusa scored a career-high 21 points but the USC Upstate Spartans were unable to overcome a series of Stetson runs as the Hatters earned an 80-68 victory inside the Edmunds Center on Saturday. 

Stetson improves to 14-5 and 3-1 in the ASUN, while Upstate drops to 8-11 and 1-3. 

Agrusa surpassed her previous career-high of 16 points against Converse in the season-opener on Nov. 11. Agrusa was a career-best 8-for-11 from the field and finished with a career-high five 3-pointers after going 5-for-8 from behind the arc. Raven Jefferson scored 17 points followed by Tamera Thorpe with 11. Thorpe led the Spartans with six rebounds while DeNisha Swain had a team-best five assists.   

Brianti Saunders led four Stetson players in double-figures with a game-high 23 points. Breana Bey scored 15 points, followed by DeAsia Beal with 12 and Sarah Sagerer with 10. Bey led the Hatters with eight rebounds.   

Game Breakdown

• Stetson opened the game on an 11-0 run before a Thorpe layup got the Spartans on the board at the 6:18 mark. Thorpe's basket sparked a 12-2 run as the Spartans pulled within two, 14-12, thanks to a Brittney Delva free throw with 2:01 remaining. Stetson led 19-12 after the opening quarter.   
• A McKenna Beach layup gave the Hatters a 28-18 lead with 6:48 to go in the second quarter. Upstate used an 11-0 run to take a 29-28 lead following a Delva free throw at the 4:01 mark. Stetson reclaimed the lead, 35-34, on a Kennedy Colclough layup before consecutive baskets by Agrusa and Thorpe gave the Spartans a 38-35 advantage. Myka Johnson-Matthews sank a jumper on the final Stetson possession of the first half to send the game into halftime with the Spartans holding a 38-37 lead.
• Bey gave the Hatters a 39-38 lead on a layup 15 seconds into the third quarter as Stetson opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run. After a Thorpe layup at the 6:47 mark, Stetson used another 7-0 run for a 51-40 lead. The Hatters led 53-46 at the end of the quarter.
• After a Brittney Chambers jumper gave the Hatters a 64-51 lead with 7:35 remaining, Agrusa would hit a pair of 3-pointers to trim the Spartan deficit to 64-57 with just over five minutes to play. Delva would make layups on the next two Upstate possessions followed by a Thorpe basket to cut the Stetson lead to 68-63 with 2:53 left, but Upstate would not get any closer as Stetson made eight free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

By the Numbers

• Upstate outscored Stetson 26-18 in the second quarter.  The 26-point output is the most the Spartans have scored since scoring 27 points in the fourth quarter against Bob Jones on Dec. 3 and is tied for the fourth-most points in a quarter this season.
• Stetson outshot Upstate 47.6 percent (30-for-63) to 42.6 percent (23-for-54).
• The Spartans were 10-for-23 (37 percent) from behind the 3-point line while Stetson finished 4-for-15 (26.7 percent).
• Stetson held a 40-30 edge in rebounds.
• The game featured two ties and six lead changes.

Up Next

• Upstate visits Florida Gulf Coast on Monday at 7 p.m.

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