Spartanburg, S.C. –Winthrop secured their second road win of the season by beating fourth-place USC Upstate by a final score of 53-48 on Saturday afternoon. This is the first of consecutive days facing the Spartans.
Winthrop (7-17, 5-8 Big South) | USC Upstate (9-15, 6-7 Big South)
Feb. 11, 2023 | G.B. Hodge Center
Winthrop 53, USC Upstate 48
How it Happened
First Quarter | The first quarter was a fierce defensive battle. Winthrop got on the board first via a
Shamyjha Price triple before Upstate scored the next seven points and held the Eagles scoreless for nearly seven minutes. Winthrop's defense did largely the same feat by holding the Spartans scoreless for the rest of the quarter after they seized their 7-3 lead at the 5:25 mark.
Ally Ross ended Winthrop's long drought by sinking two free throws to make it 7-5 Upstate at the 1:34 mark, which would be the score at the end of the period.
Second Quarter | Price quickly tied it up at seven 15 seconds into the frame before Upstate scored on a layup and two free throws for an 11-7 lead.
Leonor Paisana got on the board from downtown and
Jada Ryce hit a layup to give Winthrop a 12-11 lead at the 6:42 mark. After three quick points by Upstate, Paisana sunk her second triple of the quarter,
Aaishah Barry drained a jumper and Price hit a free throw to give Winthrop the lead back, 18-14 at the 2:03 mark. The Eagles also held Upstate scoreless for more than four minutes. But a 5-0 run by the Spartans gave them a 19-18 lead going into the locker room.
Third Quarter |
Tori Hall gave Winthrop the lead immediately to start the second half on a layup and
Paige Powell also recorded her first score of the day to extend the lead to three, 22-19 at the 8:27 mark. After the homestanding Spartans tied it with a three-pointer on the next play, Ryce and Powell gave Winthrop the lead right back several plays later on a layup and two free throws, respectively. Upstate answered with an and-one to cut the Eagle lead to one but Hall drove down low and converted to give Winthrop a 28-25 lead with 5:28 left. Upstate would then hit another free throw but Ryce scored on a three-pointer to take a five-point lead with 4:55 remaining, their largest of the quarter. The Spartans responded with a three-pointer to make it a two-point game on the next play but after a media timeout, Ryce would hit two free throws to go up four inside of two minutes. A free throw by Upstate made it a one-possession game with a minute left but Price made it a five-point contest inside of a minute on a layup. Two more free throws by the Spartans resulted in Winthrop taking a 35-32 heading into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter | Powell hit a jumper to start the fourth frame but Upstate scored on two straight three-pointers to take a one-point lead at 38-37. Price and Ryce would give the Eagles a 42-38 lead on a layup and a three-pointer with 7:33 left. The Spartans then called for time after they hit a layup of their own, leaving Winthrop up two. Coming out of the timeout, Price hit one from deep to give the Eagles a 45-40 lead with nearly five minutes left. Upstate would then score to make it a three-point game but Hall restored Winthrop's five-point edge on a layup with 4:11 left. Several plays later Ryce gave the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 49-42 on a layup with 2:13 left. Upstate scored the next four points to make it a three-point game with 2:03 left but Ryce hit a huge hook shot to put the Eagles up five a minute later. Upstate got it back to three with 35 seconds left but had to foul. The Spartans fouled Paisana and she missed both free throws, leaving Winthrop up 51-48 with 22 seconds left as the Spartans called for time to set up their play to tie the game. Upstate failed to capitalize off the missed free throws as Powell secured the rebound and sealed the game with two free throws to give Winthrop a huge 53-48 road victory with 13 seconds left.
Statistical Standouts (Team)
- Winthrop outscored Upstate 21-10 in points off turnovers
- There were 16 combined lead changes and six ties
- Winthrop held the Spartans to three-of-14 shooting from the field in the first quarter
- Winthrop made 53.85% of their shots from the field in the fourth quarter
- Winthrop had 19 steals
- Four Eagles played more than 30 minutes
- Powell currently has career single-season highs in scoring average, rebounding average, steals, blocks
- Price currently has career season-highs in scoring average, steals, free throws made
- Price set a season-high in steals
- Paisana set a season-high in steals
- Ryce's 45 steals is currently the most in a single-season by an Eagle since 2018-19 when Anika Riley had 46 – before that it was Erica Williams with 48 (2016-17) and Danyael Goodhope with 52 (2016-17)
- Winthrop now leads the series with Upstate 14-12
- Winthrop snapped a three-game losing streak to the Spartans, including two straight on the road. This is the Eagles first win in the series since a 59-54 win in Spartanburg on Dec. 17, 2020
- Winthrop has their most wins at this point in the season since winning 11 games in 2019-20
- This is Winthrop's second overall road win and conference road win on the season
- Most conference road wins and road wins overall since 2020-21, when the Eagles won three total road games
- Back-to-back conference road wins and overall road wins since 2018-19
- Winthrop has won four of the last five games
Statistical Standouts (Individual)
Jada Ryce (32 min, 6-13 FG, 8 rebounds, 16 pts)
Shamyjha Price (34 min, 5 steals, 13 pts)
Up Next
Winthrop returns home to face Upstate tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.
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