#WBB Suffers 62-51 Setback to USC Upstate

Thursday, January 30

Jacksonville, Fla.

5:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

-514, 17 ASun

USC Upstate

-109, 53 ASun

USC Upstate

North Florida

1/30/2014 8:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

Boxscore (PDF)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of North Florida women's basketball came up short against USC Upstate on Thursday night, falling to the Spartans 62-51 at UNF Arena.

Destinee Smith led the Ospreys with 14 points and four assists, while Larkira Jones grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

UNF shot 32.8 percent (19-for-58) for the night and held a 46-43 advantage in rebounds.

Three Spartans reached double-digits in points. Brittany Clency had a game-high 20 points, while Sharmayne Edwards and Valese McAllister added 16 and 12, respectively. Brittany Starling had a team-high eight rebounds.

USC Upstate shot 33.8 percent (22-for-65) from the floor.

A sluggish start saw UNF trail throughout the entire game. After being as close as two points, the Ospreys saw USC Upstate go on a 15-4 run to take a 21-8 lead at 6:36. However, a jumper from Chandler Merkerson sparked a 9-0 spurt that allowed the Ospreys to cut USC Upstate's lead down to four and make it 21-17 at 4:13. USC Upstate gained an eight-point lead behind a Clency jumper and two McAllister free throws, but back-to-back Smith jumpers made it a four-point game with 1:27 to go. The Spartans regained an eight-point advantage before Brittney Wright hit a buzzer-beating jumper as the Spartans carried a 29-23 lead into halftime.

A three-pointer from Smith and a Jones jumper started the second half as UNF cut USC Upstate's lead down to one and made it 29-28 at 16:54. However, the Spartans answered with an 11-3 run to take a 40-31 lead on a McAllister layup at 11:52. UNF brought the deficit down to four before USC Upstate took a two 10-point leads, including one at 5:53 when Clency hit both foul shots to make it 51-41. UNF attempted to fight back and cut its deficit down to five at 2:53 on a Janeá Williams jumper to make it 56-51, but USC Upstate ended the game with a 6-0 run.

UNF concludes the first half of Atlantic Sun play on Saturday against ETSU. Tip is set for 4:30 p.m., at UNF Arena and is part of a doubleheader with the Ospreys' men's team.