Women's Basketball 1/23/2017 12:00:00 AM

Jefferson Leads Spartans in Loss at Florida Gulf Coast

Box Score

Fort Myers, Fla. – Raven Jefferson scored a game-high 22 points but it wasn't enough as USC Upstate lost to Florida Gulf Coast 93-43 in Alico Arena on Monday night.

Florida Gulf Coast improves to 16-6 overall and 5-0 in the ASUN while Upstate drops to 8-12 and 1-4

Jefferson finished over the 20-point mark for the sixth time in her career and third time this season. It is the second time Jefferson has scored 20 or more points at Florida Gulf Coast after scoring 20 points on Jan. 22, 2015. Jefferson finished 10-for-20 from the field with a team-best eight rebounds. Riley Popplewell finished with nine points.

FGCU had five players finish in double figures led by Erica Nelson with 18 points. Taylor Gradinjan scored 11 points followed by Jordin Alexander, Jessica Cattani and Haley Laughter with 10 points each. Tytionia Adderly grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

Game Breakdown

The Spartans won the opening tip with Popplewell scoring the first points of the game on a layup seven seconds into the contest followed by a Jefferson layup. Florida Gulf Coast enjoyed an 18-12 lead following a Laughter layup before a 6-0 Spartan run capped by a Jefferson layup gave Upstate an 18-17 lead with 3:14 to play in the opening quarter. The Eagles closed out the quarter on a 13-0 run for a 30-18 lead at the end of the frame.
A Jefferson layup trimmed the Spartan deficit to 37-23 with 3:35 to play in the second quarter. Florida Gulf Coast led 45-27 at halftime.
The Eagles opened the third quarter on a 14-2 run for a 59-29 lead at the media timeout. Florida Gulf Coast led 58-32 at the end of the period.
Tamera Thorpe made four of six free throw attempts in the final quarter, including the final three points for the Spartans. A 3-pointer by Nasrin Ulel served as the final points of the game.

By the Numbers

Florida Gulf Coast outshot Upstate 46 percent (37-for-80) to 28 percent (18-for-64).
The Eagles shot 35.1 percent (13-for-37) from behind the 3-point line.
Florida Gulf Coast outrebounded Upstate 62-35.

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