SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Freshmen Rodneysha Martin and Jayla Calhoun both came off the bench and netted season-high point totals for visiting North Carolina Central University in a 68-46 non-conference women's basketball loss at the University of South Carolina Upstate Saturday afternoon at the Hodge Center.
 
The Spartans scorched the hoop at 63-percent precision in the first half to claim a 39-17 halftime advantage before cruising to the 22-point victory. Upstate (7-6) – 4-1 at home – was led by senior center Brittany Starling, who totaled game-high numbers of 23 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Martin led the Lady Eagles with nine points and Calhoun match junior Monique Whaley-Briggs with eight points. Senior Tisha Dixon followed with seven points and a team-high eight rebounds. NCCU (1-8) played its second straight game without junior guard Morgan Jones due to injury.
 
Upstate led from the onset, jumping out 14-4 on an outburst that featured seven consecutive points by Starling. A freshman Maya Jackson free throw, a 3-pointer by Martin and a Dixon 15-footer helped NCCU close the first quarter on a 6-2 run to close the gap to two possessions after 10 minutes of play at 16-10.
 
A 15-0 push by the Spartans to start the second quarter extended the hosts advantage to a comfortable margin for the rest of the afternoon. NCCU missed 15 consecutive shots during the decisive run until Dixon made a short jumper in the paint at the 2:36 mark. The Lady Eagles shot 5.9-percent (1 of 17) in the period to dig its 22-point hole at the half.
 
Upstate drilled 17 of 27 (63%) field goals in the first half and held NCCU to 18.8% (6 of 32). Starling, who ranks in the top-10 of NCAA Division I in rebounds per game, amassed 12 points and 11 rebounds before the intermission for her fourth consecutive double-double and seventh of the season and 29th of her career.
 
Dixon was halfway to a double-double at the midway break with team-high marks of five points and five rebounds.
 
The Spartans maintained a 20-plus point cushion throughout the second half and led by as many as 30. NCCU outscored USC Upstate, 14-9, in the fourth quarter with strong play by Martin and Calhoun to keep the final margin the same as it was at halftime.
 
Brittany Clency and Raven Jefferson registered 14 and 11 points, respectively, for the victors. Upstate shot 50-percent for the contest, tallied 18 assists on 29 made field goals and edged NCCU on the boards by four (43-39).
 
The Lady Eagles got half of their points from reserves with freshman Maya Jackson adding six points and six rebounds. The visitors shot 28.3-percent.
 
NCCU wraps up play before the holiday break with a non-conference contest at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina on Monday at 5 p.m.