March 1, 2008

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Sophomore Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer) wrapped up her season with a 27-point, eight-rebound performance against the conference champions, East Tennessee State, but the USC Upstate women's basketball team fell on Saturday, 84-56, in the Atlantic Sun Conference season-ender at the Hodge Center.

Hawkins, who finished the season with 477 points, good for 12th in school single-season history, hit 10-of-25 shots from the field, draining two 3-pointers and five free throws. She also added eight rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Spartans (5-24 overall, 1-15 A-Sun).

Junior Kelly Westfield (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg College) added a career-high eight points and four rebounds and senior Jessica McGlothlen (Greer, S.C./Roane State C.C.) posted two 3-pointers for six points to go along with a career-high two blocked shots. Sophomore Shanea Wyant (Lafayette, Ind./Lafayette Jefferson) posted five points and three rebounds and junior Cherale Powell (Wilkesboro, N.C./Wilkes C.C.) posted four points and six rebounds.

The Lady Bucs (18-11 overall, 14-2 A-Sun) wrapped up the regular-season conference championship which will has helped the team earn a bid to the WNIT if they do not win the conference tournament to get the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

ETSU opened the second-half on a 12-2 run that featured four points each from Nichelle Akers and TaRonda Wiles, helping a six-point halftime lead reach 16 with 16:45 remaining in the game. A 3-pointer from McGlothlen cut the lead to 13, but the Spartans couldn't get any closer, as ETSU blitzed Upstate by shooting 58.6 percent (17-for-29) during the half. Both Michele DeVault and Wiles added nine points in the half.

The Lady Bucs started the game on a 16-5 run capped by a 3-pointer from DeVault, but the Spartans charged back thanks to some inspired play by Hawkins, who scored 10 points in a row to cut the lead to 18-15 with 13:15 left in the half. During the run, Hawkins converted a 3-point play, hit a 3-pointer and added two other layups.

The Spartans kept the Bucs' lead in the single-figures for the rest of the half, with Hawkins leading the way by scoring 19 in the half and Westfield adding four, all on free throws. ETSU shot 54.3 percent (19-for-35) from the field in the half to stay out front, scoring 30 points in the paint and adding eight second-chance points in the half.

DeVault led the Bucs by scoring 19 points and adding six rebounds. Latisha Belcher posted 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists and Wiles added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Kami Phillips posted seven assists and Jenny Norman blocked five shots and added six points.

ETSU will now prepare for the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference Championships at Lipscomb University, beginning March 5. USC Upstate is not eligible for the tournament, as it is in its first-year of a four-year reclassification process to Division I.

Notes
The Spartans are 3-3 on March 1 and 4-2 in the Hodge Center in the month of March.

Currently, sophomore Courtney Hawkins holds the conference scoring lead with her 16.4 games average. Jacksonville's Ashley Williams, who plays tonight 6 p.m. at Stetson, is second in the league with a 16.3 point-per-game average. Her 19.7 A-Sun scoring average leads the league.

Sophomore Courtney Hawkins finished the season by scoring 15 or more points in each of her last nine games and 14 of her last 15. She scored 20 or more points in eight contests.

Sophomore Courtney Hawkins has scored in double figures in 23 of 29 games this year. She finished the season 10th in school-history with 43 3-pointers made, fifth with 124 free throws made, fourth in free throw percentage (.790, 124-for-157) and 12th with 68 steals.

Junior Cherale Powell had 11 games with five or more rebounds this season, including six against ETSU.

Junior Ebony Johnson crossed the 500-point mark in the game with her bucket with 7:55 left in the first half. She has 501 points in her career and joined teammates Courtney Hawkins and Courtney Bradley in the club. Hawkins and Bradley also passed the milestone this year.

Junior Ebony Johnson posted seven rebounds against ETSU, keeping her average at 7.0 per game. She is currently the only player 5-7 or shorter in the nation averaging 7.0 rebounds per game.

Junior Kelly Westfield posted a career-high eight points, her fifth game this year with five or more points. Westfield's previous career-high was six, done twice this season.

Freshman Kimberly Pitman posted two points off free throws, her first action on the scoreboard in five games. Freshman Tara Tranum also added two points, snapping a six-game dry spell.

Sophomore Shanea Wyant finished the season with 28 games started, the eighth-most in a single-season in school history.