SPARTANBURG, S.C.— The Spartans capped off their back-to-back weekend with a 52-42 victory against Flagler College behind a solid second-half defensive effort Sunday afternoon. Four Spartans hit double figures to help Upstate improve to 2-2 on the season and start off 2-0 at the Hodge Center.

The Saints attacked the boards and took advantage of some offensive rebounds to gain an early lead in the contest, but Lillian Flantos gave the Spartans their first advantage of the game on a bucket with 3:30 left in the opening frame. After a few minutes of back-and-forth action, Upstate was able to end the first period up 13-11. However, Flagler came out with a 12-0 run to start the second quarter to gain a 10-point lead over the Spartans. Upstate capitalized on chances from the charity stripe, but went into the break with a 30-21 deficit.

Denijsha Wilson opened the third frame with a 3-pointer to cut Upstate's deficit to six, and the Spartans held the Saints to 2-of-15 from the floor in the period as Molly Coleman's and-one in the final minute of the period gave her team a 38-37. The fourth period was all Spartans as Flagler was cold on the floor until 29 seconds remained in the final quarter. Upstate outscored Flagler 14-5 in the period to secure the double-digit win.

"We had some choice words at halftime and had to wake [our team] up," said head coach Becky Burke. "We had to make some adjustments at halftime because [Flagler] ran some things they didn't run last year that we didn't have film on. We had to make some adjustments on the fly. Our guards picked up the tempo in the second half, our posts started to rebound, and our team built some confidence."

Notes

• The Spartans held Flagler to 3-of-29 from the floor in the second half while shooting nearly 43 percent in the half.
• Denijsha Wilson led the team in scoring with 16 points, her third straight double-figure scoring game. She also pulled down a season-high seven rebounds.
• McKinley Brooks-Sumpter has hit double digits in each game she had appeared in so far, this time putting up 12 points alongside a career-high four steals.
• Molly Coleman was perfect from the field today as she recorded her first double digit scoring game for the Spartans with 13 points.
• Marnicha Prudent pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for the second time this season. She also put up seven points.

UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans will take a week off before heading to Old Dominion on Sunday, Dec. 13 for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off against the Monarchs.

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