Tuesday, November 27, 2012

MACON, Ga. – Northern Kentucky and USC Upstate claimed victories in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, the Norse knocking off Youngstown State with a buzzer-beater in its home opener while USC Upstate stole a last-minute road win at Western Carolina.

Trailing 64-62 with 16 seconds remaining, NKU scored on a jumper by Kayla Thacker to force the tie. The Norse pressure then forced a turnover that led to a buzzer-beating layup by Melody Doss for the final 66-64 victory. Christine Roush led the Norse with 24 points and eight rebounds. The win was in NKU's home opener and is the program's first in Division I.

USC Upstate and Western Carolina were tied at 46 with 51 seconds remaining, but Tee'Ara Copney gave the Spartans the lead with a layup with 39 seconds left. The Spartans hit three free throws down the stretch to hold on to the 51-48 road win in Cullowhee, N.C. Copney led all players in the game with 18 points and Brittany Starling had seven rebounds for the Spartans.

Roush's 24 points were the evening's high, and her eight rebounds tied Doss for the high in rebounds.

Women's Basketball Contests
• Northern Kentucky 66, Youngstown State 64
• USC Upstate 51, Western Carolina 48

Top-Three Points
1. Christine Roush, Northern Kentucky – 24 points
2. Tee'Ara Copney, USC Upstate – 18 points
3. Brittany Starling, USC Upstate – 12 points

Top-Three Rebounds
T1. Christine Roush, Northern Kentucky – 8 rebounds
T1. Melody Doss, Northern Kentucky – 8 rebounds
3. Brittany Starling, USC Upstate – 7 rebounds

Top-Three Assists
1. Kayla Thacker, Northern Kentucky – 4 assists
2. Tiara Hopper, Northern Kentucky – 3 assists
T3. Four with 2 assists

Top Blocks
1. Melody Doss, Northern Kentucky – 3 blocks

Top-Two Steals
T1. Tiara Hopper, Northern Kentucky – 2 steals
T1. Brittany Starling, USC Upstate – 2 steals

Four games are scheduled for tomorrow featuring North Florida, Kennesaw State, Jacksonville and Mercer.

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