Women's Basketball Loses Exhibition at USC Upstate

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mars Hill fell to NCAA DI opponent USC Upstate, 81-65 at the Hodge Center on Wednesday evening in women's basketball action. Upstate improves to 8-6 on the season. It was an exhibition game for the Lions.

Ansley Ricker led Mars Hill with 19 points, followed by Cadence Wilmoth with 10. Genice Lane pulled down five rebounds to lead MHU.

Brittany Starling finished with her fifth consecutive double-double, scoring 25 points while pulling down 14 rebounds to lead USC Upstate. Travonda Haddock followed scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Kristen Dickerson added 15 points and five assists followed by Tamera Thorpe with 10 points.

A'Lexxus Davis gave the Spartans a 2-0 lead 16 seconds into the game before the Lions used an 8-2 run for an 8-4 advantage following a Wilmoth jumper with 5:27 to play in the quarter. A Starling jumper followed by a Dickerson layup tied the contest at 8 with 3:59 remaining before Paige Chavis completed the old-fashioned three-point play to give the visitors an 11-8 lead with 3:35 left. Thorpe gave Upstate a 13-11 lead after a fast-break layup as Upstate led 19-11 after the first quarter.

Starling's layup with 9:41 to play in the second quarter gave the hosts their double-digit lead of the game. A pair of Sydney Comer free throws followed by a Kelsey Espinosa layup cut the Spartan lead to 25-20 with 5:15 to play in the first half. Upstate answered with a 9-2 run for a 34-22 lead before a Mars Hill timeout with just under 2 minutes remaining. The Spartans took a 34-26 lead into halftime as an Espinosa layup with 24 seconds remaining served as the final points of the half.

A Dickerson free throw gave Upstate a 41-28 advantage with 8:26 remaining before Ricker completed the old-fashioned three-point play followed by a layup to bring the Lions to within eight (44-36) with 7:22 remaining. The Spartans responded with a 12-2 run for a 56-38 lead at the media timeout. Mars Hill used a 10-0 run capped by a pair of Ricker free throws to pull within eight (56-48) with just over two minutes to play in the frame. Ricker scored the final points of the quarter as Upstate led 62-50 after three quarters of play.

Ricker converted a pair of free throws with 7:57 to play to pull the Lions within nine, 65-55. A Starling layup pushed the Spartan lead back over single digits (66-55) but the Lions cut the Spartan lead to six (66-60) after two Brenda Kamga free throws with 5:42 remaining. Upstate forced turnovers on two of the Lions' next three possessions while using a 6-0 run for a 70-60 lead with just over three minutes remaining. Shakira Allen's three-pointer with 1:54 to play brought Mars Hill within eight (73-65), but the Lions would get no closer as Upstate ended the game on an 8-0 run.

Mars Hill outshot Upstate as the Lions finished 25-for-55 (45.5%) from the field compared to 30-for-68 (44.1%) for the Spartans. Upstate was 19-for-24 (79.2%) from the free throw line with Mars Hill posting an 11-for-15 (73.3%) mark at the charity stripe. The Spartans held a 46-31 edge in rebounds and outscored the Lions 44-28 in the paint. Upstate reserves outscored the MHU bench 50-19.

Mars Hill will start the 2016 portion of their season on Saturday, January 2, when they play at SAC rival Carson-Newman. Game time is set for a 2 p.m. start in Holt Fieldhouse.