ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Junior Molly Coleman dominated in the paint Friday afternoon as the Spartans took a 62-49 road win against UNC Asheville in game one of the back-to-back series. Four Spartans scored in double-figures including Coleman who posted a career-high 24 points and 14 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season, and Jada Logan who notched her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Upstate improved to 6-14 (4-11 BSC) with the win.

After a slow start to the game, Logan got Upstate on the board with a free throw at 7:05, and Dakota McCaughan tied things up at 6-6 on a triple with 4:39 left in the first quarter. McCaughan gave Upstate its first lead of the game with another trey before Coleman banked a turnaround jumper off the glass to push Upstate's lead to 14-10 with 2:14 to go in the period. Coleman ended the frame with nine points as Upstate led 16-14 after 10 minutes of play.

The Bulldogs opened the second quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 23-18 lead, but McCaughan's third 3-pointer of the day followed by a layup from Coleman tied things back up at 23-23 with 5:44 left in the frame. Wilson's floater in the lane later gave the Spartans a 30-25 lead in the final minute of the period, and Wilson pushed that lead to 32-25 in the last four seconds to end the half.

An early basket from Logan made it 34-25 in favor of the Spartans 20 seconds into the third quarter. UNC Asheville started to close the gap as they cut the deficit to 36-33, but then both teams entered a scoring drought from 6:45 until Denijsha Wilson's breakaway layup at 3:44. A Michaela Gibbons three and Coleman's last-second layup sent the Spartans into the final frame with a 46-37 advantage.

Upstate worked up to a 15-point lead midway through the fourth quarter as Wilson's and-1 opportunity put the Spartans ahead 55-40 with 4:37 remaining in the contest. The Bulldogs cut their deficit to single digits just under the two-minute mark, but Upstate never wavered as the Spartans took advantage of a few free throws and yet another bucket from Coleman in the last nine seconds.

Notes

• Four Spartans scored 10 or more points in a game since Nov. 5, 2019 against FAMU.
• Molly Coleman paced all scorers in the game with a career-high 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field. She also pulled down a game-high and career-high 14 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year.
• Denijsha Wilson ended the day with 13 points and was perfect from the charity stripe in the game.
• Jada Logan notched her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
• Dakota McCaughan rounded out the Spartans in double-figures with 10 points, alongside a pair of steals and a block.

UP next for the Spartans
Upstate will look to sweep the series against the Bulldogs when the two teams return to the court tomorrow for game two at 2 p.m.

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