No. 10 USC Upstate Holds Off No. 7 Winthrop, Advances to Quarterfinals
With just 43 seconds to play in the game
Riley Popplewell missed a mid-range jumper, but collected the offensive rebound and made the go-ahead layup with 33 seconds remaining. USC Upstate held on for a 60-57 victory over Winthrop and became the first-ever 10 seed to advance to the Big South Quarterfinals.
This is the first Big South Tournament win for USC Upstate since joining the conference in 2018. The Spartans have not advanced in a conference tournament since the 2016 ASUN Championships. That season, the Spartans reached the semi-finals of the ASUN Tournament.
USC Upstate won the opening tip-off and scored on the opening possession when
Popplewell made a layup from a
Michaela Gibbons pass. Following a Winthrop turnover, the Spartans were up 4-0 on a fast-break layup from Popplewell. .
Jah'che Whitfield made a 3-pointer to put Winthrop on the board and cut the Spartans' lead to 4-3. USC Upstate quickly countered with a
Brianna Lewis mid-range jumper to hold a 6-3 advantage with 8:31 to play in the opening quarter.
Coming out of the first media timeout of the quarter, Gibbons collected a pass from
Anda Kuzmina and scored an easy layup to put the Spartans up 10-3. Moments later, Popplewell made a put-back jumper to put the Spartans up five points with four minutes to go in the period.
The Spartans held off the Winthrop advance for several possessions, but at the 2:15 mark, Myra Strickland hit a 3-pointer and the game was tied at 14. With just 24 seconds left in the quarter Gibbons made a jumper to give the Spartans a 17-16 lead going into the second frame.
Neither side scored for the opening two minutes of the second quarter, but then Whitfield scored the opening basket to take an 18-17 lead. The two sides went back-and-forth for several moments until the Spartans went on a 4-0 run capped off by a Gibbons 3-pointer with 5:15 remaining in the half.
With 2:50 remaining in the half, Winthrop tied the game at 24. Another jump shot by Popplewell put the Spartans back up with 2:24 to play. Neither team scored again until the 1:04 mark of the second quarter when Strickland made a layup for Winthrop and the score was tied at 26. The score remained tied 26-26 going into the halftime break.
Popplewell led the Spartans with 12 points and 7 rebounds in the opening half of play. Gibbons finished second on the team with 7 first-half points. Strickland led all scorers with 13 points in the first half.
Winthrop made the opening basket of the third quarter to take a 28-26 lead, but Kuzmina quickly answered with a 3-pointer at the other end to give the Spartans a 29-28 advantage. The two teams then traded baskets over the next few minutes and with 5:31 to play in the quarter, Kuzmina made a fast break layup to give USC Upstate a 36-34 lead.
After a three-minute scoring drought by both sides, the Spartans' offense woke up and scored four unanswered points to force Winthrop to call a timeout down 40-34. The Eagles ended the scoring drought with 2:15 to play and quickly went on a 5-0 run of their own to pull within a point of USC Upstate. Going into the final quarter of play, USC Upstate held a 43-42 advantage.
Both teams scored on their opening possessions of the fourth quarter and the two teams were tied once again with 7:53 to play in the game. A quick 4-0 spurt by Winthrop forced USC Upstate to call a timeout with 6:21 left in the contest.
Coming out of the timeout, Winthrop went into a full court press and scored four more points to extend their lead to eight. USC Upstate was once again forced to use a timeout to stop the Winthrop pressure.
With 5:14 to play
Maya Timberlake hit a jump shot to end the scoring run for USC Upstate. Popplewell made a pair of free throws to close the gap to a 54-50 deficit to Winthrop. Moments later
Brianna Lewis drove to the basket and made step-back jumper to close the gap to 54-52. Popplewell then continued the momentum and made a floating jumper in the lane to tie the game at 54.
Winthrop ended their nearly three-minute scoring drought with a three-point field goal with 1:50 to play in the game. Lewis answered with a mid-range jumper at the other end of the floor and the Spartans trailed 57-56.
With just 43 seconds to play in the game Popplewell missed a mid-range jumper, but got the offensive rebound and made a contested rebound to give the Spartans a 58-57 advantage. Winthrop called a timeout with 33 seconds to play to setup a last second play. The Eagles traveled on the ensuing possession and the Spartans took control with just 20 seconds to play.
Down the stretch the Spartans made key free throws and came up with three consecutive stops on the defensive end to secure the victory. USC Upstate ended the game on a 14-3 run over the final 5:14 and forced four Winthrop turnovers in that time span.
Notes
UPSTATE - Popplewell ended the game with 23-points and 17-rebounds recording her sixth double-double of the season and the 16
th of her career. Lewis ended the game with 13-points and 8-assists, Gibbons contributed 8-points and 10-rebounds in the contest.
WINTHROP- Strickland led the Eagles with 13-points in the game, while Maleeah Langstaff and Miquela Santoro both contributed 10-points in the losing effort.
UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans will travel to Radford, Va., this coming Thursday to play in the 2020 Hercules Tires Big South Quarterfinals round. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Thursday evening against No. 2 Radford.