Feb. 18, 2008

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The smile on USC Upstate women's basketball head coach Tammy George's face said it all, but it was her words that explained it.

"Two words: Jessica McGlothlen," George said after Upstate's 69-53 win over Lipscomb on Monday night at the Hodge Center, giving the Spartans their first Atlantic Sun Conference win in school history. "That's all I need to say."

A senior walk-on, McGlothlen (Greer, S.C./Roan State) wasn't even on the team until 20 days ago, yet it was her two clutch back-to-back 3-pointers in the second half that put Upstate (5-21 overall, 1-12 A-Sun) up seven points and helped them on an 11-0 run that helped break the Lady Bisons' back.

"It was a real hard decision for me to make to not come back at the beginning of the season," McGlothlen, who walked onto the team as a junior, but didn't play during the first semester because of an internship, said. "The day Coach George called me, my mom and I had gone to bank and we got wristbands and I got a green one that said, `Hope' on it. That night coach called and said she needed me. It felt good to be a part of the first win in the A-Sun."

McGlothlen's career-high 11 points was just one of a myriad of bright spots for the Spartans, who got a career-high 20 points from sophomore Shanea Wyant (Lafayette, Ind./Lafayette Jefferson), career-highs of six assists and seven steals from junior Ebony Johnson (Columbia, S.C./Ridgeview) and a 26-point, five-steal effort from sophomore Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer).

Lipscomb (6-21 overall, 4-9 A-Sun) had climbed into the lead with 11:30 left in the game at 40-38 after falling behind by six points with 17:08 left, but Wyant found Hawkins in the right corner, who popped a 3-pointer through to give the Spartans a 41-40 advantage with 11:30 left. After two fruitless turnovers for each team, McGlothlen got the ball outside and fired a shot off the mark, but the ball went out of bounds off the Bisons. Hawkins gave the ball back to McGlothlen on the right side. This time, she connected, giving the Spartans a four-point lead.

"That's what she does," Hawkins, a high school teammate of McGlothlen's at Greer High School, said. "She's a 3-point shooter. Fortunately, she hit the wide open shot and the not-so-wide-open shot. She had it going (Monday).

After one of junior Cherale Powell's (Wilkesboro, N.C./Wilkes C.C.) seven rebounds gave the ball back to Upstate, McGlothlen stutter-stepped and popped a 3-pointer, again from the left side, giving Upstate a seven-point lead and forcing a Bison timeout.

"I knew I'd get fussed out if I didn't shoot it," McGlothlen said of her second trifecta. "I had a look before and I didn't take it and I got pulled out, so I knew I had to shoot it and it helped the team out."

After the timeout, Johnson stole a pass in the backcourt and was fouled while going up for the layup. She converted both free throws and the Bisons could get no closer than seven the rest of the way. The Spartans' offense was relentless, with Hawkins posting eight points, Wyant adding seven and McGlothlen connecting on another 3-pointer as Upstate led by as many as 21 with 2:31 remaining. In all, the Spartans hit 6-of-11 3-pointers in the second half, after shooting 1-of-9 from long-distance in the first half.

As the buzzer sounded, George hugged McGlothlen while the team readied to shake hands.

"That was major," George said. "She was a big boost for us off the bench. "That was the whole game plan. They took the inside away from us in the second half and they let us shoot it. Jess came out with that mindset and she did."

Wyant helped the Spartans jump out on the Bisons, scoring nine of the team's first 11 points en route to an 11-6 lead with 13:14 left in the half.

"They were just letting me do what I wanted in the post," Wyant said. "My girls were getting the ball to me and I just worked it inside. I got some lucky shots and they fell for me."

After nearly four minutes of scoreless play, a Bison jumper cut the lead to three before Hawkins connected on a 3-pointer to make it 14-8. Upstate was able to get the lead to as much as seven at 16-9 with 6:35 left, but Lipscomb roared back on an 11-4 run to take the lead at 21-20 with 2:49 left. The Spartans answered with jumpers from Powell and Wyant in the last minute of the half to take a 26-24 lead into the locker room.

"Shanea came out ready to go from the get-go," George said. "She did a good job of taking it to the hole and using her athleticism. She hit shots from the perimeter. It was just a great game for her. She came out ready to play."

Upstate was outrebounded, 41-31, but a 15-steal effort from the defense forced 24 turnovers, leading to 26 points. Despite the disparity in rebounds, Upstate still held a 17-9 advantage in second-chance points.

"We had great ball pressure," Hawkins said. "Getting out in passing lanes was a very big deal (Monday). Fortunately, for us, they turned the ball over."

Lipscomb was led by 14 points from Cree Nix and 11 points and six rebounds from Katie Rollins. Catie Woods added four assists and five points. Upstate will now get ready for the short trip to Boiling Springs, N.C. for Saturday's showdown with A-Sun foe Gardner-Webb. Tip is set for 6 p.m.

Notes
The Spartans are 7-3 all-time on Feb. 18.

Sophomore Courtney Hawkins has posted six straight games with 15 or more points. She has posted double-figure scoring efforts in 20 of 25 games this year and also has six games with 20 or more points.

With her 26 points, sophomore Courtney Hawkins now has 397 on the season, three shy of becoming the fifth sophomore in school history to post 400 in a season.

Junior Ebony Johnson crossed the 200-point mark on the season with her first bucket of the game. She now has a career-high 206 points this season.

Sophomore Cherale Powell has posted five or more rebounds in nine games this season. She finished with seven on Saturday.

Junior Ebony Johnson narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds. It was her seventh game with 10 or more rebounds this year.

Senior Jessica McGlothlen finished with a career-high 11 points and three 3-pointers.

The win was the 75th in the five-year career of Upstate head coach Tammy George. George won 43 games in two years at Brevard College and has won 32 in three years at Upstate.

The win snapped a 15-game losing streak, one shy of the school-record of 16 set from Jan. 24, 2000 to Dec. 8, 2001.

The Spartans took a lead into the locker room for the first time since holding a 32-26 advantage against Limestone in a 59-56 win on Nov. 24.