University of North Florida
USC Upstate
UNF drops Peach Belt road opener at USC Upstate, 71-60
2/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Jan. 8, 2005) - Its first trip to Spartanburg, S.C., in more than two years didn't prove to be memorable for the University of North Florida women's basketball team.
USC Upstate freshman guard Keoshia Worthy scored 17 points and Stephanie Feyes added 12, including a 10-for-10 performance from the free throw line, to help the Spartans rally from a two-point halftime deficit and defeat UNF 71-60 in Peach Belt Conference basketball action on Saturday.
UNF (6-7, 0-2 PBC) went cold down the stretch in the second half, scoring just four points over the final 5:46, to drop their fourth straight game and open conference play 0-2 for the first time since 1997-98. The win was only the second for USC Upstate (8-5, 1-1 PBC) in 10 meetings between the teams and first since 1993-94. It snapped an eight- game UNF winning streak in the series.
Junior Karli Knudsen scored 12 points to lead the Lady Ospreys, while Kim Smith and Alana Mountfield added 10 points each.
"We came into a hostile environment and improved a little in areas where we needed to," UNF head coach Mary Tappmeyer said. "In the second half, we stopped attacking the basket. In the first half, I thought we were more aggressive. We lost that intensity. Karli came off the bench and gave us a big lift. We just have to become more consistent offensively."
UNF started off well, forcing the tempo and using its transition offense to build a 33-27 lead in the first half. The Spartans battled back to slice its deficit to 33-31 at halftime behind inspired play from Worthy and a blistering stretch at the free throw line. The Spartans hit 18 of their first 20 free throws and finished 23-of-30 for the game. UNF hit just 8-of- 16 shots from the stripe.
After an up-and-down first half, the teams settled down into a halfcourt battle in the second half, and UNF wasn't able to find an offensive rhythm. Senior center Brittney Davis was just 2-for- 11 working against Upstate's Yakeeshia Ross, including 2-for-10 in the second half.
The Lady Ospreys shot just 32 percent in the second half and only 38 percent for the game, while Upstate shot 43 percent and 48 percent over the final 20 minutes.
UNF will return to action on Wednesday night against Columbus State at UNF Arena. Tipoff is schedule for 5:30 p.m. The game will be carried on WIOJ-AM 1010 and can also be heard on the World Wide Web at www.unf.edu/sports.
