Box Score (.pdf)

Spartanburg. S.C. – On an afternoon where the USC Upstate women's basketball team honored seniors A'Lexxus Davis and Brittney Delva, it was junior Tamera Thorpe who led the Spartans with a game-high 25 points as the Spartans defeated NJIT 74-67 at Eddie and Ann Payne Arena in the G.B. Hodge Center on Saturday afternoon. 

USC Upstate concludes the 2017-18 regular season at 11-18 overall and 6-8 in the ASUN Conference while NJIT falls to 4-25 and 2-12. 

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

• Thorpe finished above the 20-point threshold for the fifth time this season and ninth time in her career.
• Thorpe converted 15 of 18 free throw attempts, both of which are career-highs.
• Anda Kuzmina finished with 13 points followed by Morgan Williams with 10 points.
• Williams grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
• Kelly Guarino led NJIT with 19 points and seven rebounds.
• USC Upstate outrebounded NJIT 44-37.
• The Spartans finished 19-for-51 (37.3 percent) from the field.
• NJIT went 25-for-69 (36.2 percent) from the field.
• The Spartans were 31-for-40 at the charity stripe.

FIRST QUARTER BREAKDOWN

• Davis got the Spartans on the board on a jumper 19 seconds into the game.
• Following two Williams free throws that gave USC Upstate a 9-3 lead, NJIT scored five straight points to pull within one, 9-8, on a Guarino layup with just under five minutes left.
• A Williams layup gave the Spartans a 16-8 lead with 3:31 to play.
• USC Upstate led 22-18 at the end of the period.

SECOND QUARTER BREAKDOWN

• Riley Popplewell hit two free throws with just under nine minutes to play for a 25-20 USC Upstate lead.
• A Guarino 3-pointer followed by a pair of Tunstall free throws gave the Highlanders a 27-25 edge at the 6:24 mark.
• The Spartans reclaimed the lead on a Kuzmina 3-pointer at the 4:53 mark.
• Delva hit a pair of free throws to send the Spartans into halftime with a 36-29 advantage.

THIRD QUARTER BREAKDOWN

• Kuzmina gave USC Upstate its first double-digit lead of the game, 41-31, as she hit a 3-pointer with 8:30 to go.
• Ellyn Stoll brought the Highlanders within five, 43-38, as she hit a 3-pointer with just over five minutes to play.
• Delva gave USC Upstate its largest lead of the game at 11 points, 49-38, after she sank two free throws with 3:13 to go.
• The Spartans led 52-47 heading into the final quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER BREAKDOWN

• Taj Lewis brought the visitors within two points, 53-51, on a layup with just over eight minutes left.
• After Lewis' basket, NJIT was assessed a technical foul. Thorpe made both free throws after the foul followed by a Davis jumper to give the Spartans a 57-51 edge.
• Guarino brought the Highlanders within four, 64-60, on a jumper with 5:34 to play.
• Thorpe sank a pair of free throws to give the Spartans a 70-62 edge at the 2:46 mark.
• Amber Morgan's free throw with 1:15 remaining cut the NJIT deficit to five, 70-65, but the Spartans hit free throws down the stretch to keep the Highlanders at bay.

UP NEXT

• USC Upstate will play in the ASUN Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday.

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