Monday, February 22, 2010

MACON, Ga. – The final A-Sun/CSS broadcast of the regular season airs on Monday as USC Upstate heads to Johnson City, Tenn. to face ETSU. The Lady Bucs, led by seniors Siarre Evans and TaRonda Wiles, play host to the Spartans, paced by junior forward Chelsea McMillan and freshman guard Tee’Ara Copney, at 7:00 p.m. from the ETSU/MHSA Athletic Center. Catch all of the action on A-Sun.TV.

USC Upstate and ETSU met in Spartanburg, S.C. on Jan. 4, with the Spartans posting an 85-78 victory. USC Upstate took advantage of poor vis¬itor shooting, as ETSU finished the first half at 39.4 percent from the floor and 0-of-8 from beyond the arc. McMillan posted a game-high and career-high tying 31 points and 11 rebounds for the USC Upstate, including going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, while sophomore guard Kendra Wallace finished with 20 points, five rebounds and 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point land. Wiles paced ETSU with 25 points, five assists and four steals and junior guard Tara Davis notched 14 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Evans totaled 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

On the season, Wiles paces the league with 18.2 points per game, ranks fifth in free-throw percentage with an 81.3 mark from the line, ranks sixth overall in field goal percentage with a 45.4 rate from the floor and leads the conference with a 46.0 tally from behind the arc. The Spartans’ McMillan stands among three players in the A-Sun who average a double-double, with 14.8 points and a league-leading 11.0 rebounds per game.

Tara Davis led ETSU to a perfect 1-0 record last week and set career highs with 13 made free throws and seven rebounds in 34 minutes of action, helping keep the Lady Bucs’ regular season title hopes within reach. For her performance, the junior guard claimed the first Player of the Week award of her career. Davis scored a game-high 22 points and recorded seven assists, as she helped guide ETSU to a 77-67 win at Campbell on Thursday night in Buies Creek.

The meeting also features a battle between the two leading scoring teams in the conference, as ETSU and USC Upstate average 78.0 and 72.1 points per game, respectively. ETSU, who has already secured the top seed for next month’s General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championships, enters the week at two wins behind pace-setting FGCU. The Lady Bucs own an overall tally of 4-1 in their series against the Spartans and have won 48 of 59 in Johnson City.

The only place to watch the Wednesday and Thursday quarterfinal action from next week’s General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championships comes courtesy ASun.TV. All eight quarterfinal games, scheduled for noon, 2:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. will be offered for free.

Fans can follow the Atlantic Sun on Twitter and on Facebook. Visit twitter.com/AtlanticSun to begin receiving updates on conference news, weekly awards, and from A-Sun championships. Atlantic Sun followers with a Facebook account can become a "fan" of the conference by visiting facebook.com/AtlanticSunConference.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.