SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Host USC Upstate used a closing 18-4 run to squeak out a 66-61 over a North Carolina Central University women's basketball team that led for most of the game on Saturday afternoon at the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
Junior Tamera Thorpe scored a career-high 28 points, including a go-ahead layup with 45.5 seconds left and two free throws to seal the win with 4.3 ticks. USC Upstate (4-10 Overall) leveled its record at home to 4-4.
 
The Eagles had a hot hand from long range in the first half, swishing nine three-pointers to pull out to a 38-30 halftime advantage. Junior Sami Oliver-Alexander drilled five of them to pace NCCU into the locker room with 15 points. She would be held scoreless in the second half.
 
The visitors were in front for most of the first 20 minutes as Upstate only led once at 11-10.
 
Sophomore Paulina Afriyie tallied 10 of her 12 points in the second half to help keep the maroon and gray ahead until the final minute of the game. Afriyie cashed in eight points in the third quarter as NCCU maintained an eight-point edge of 50-42 heading into the last quarter.
 
Junior Dominique Adams completed a three-point play with 3:29 left as NCCU continued to cling to the lead at 61-56. However, USC Upstate held the Eagles scoreless from that point and the Spartans scored the final 10 points of the contest.
 
The late rally started with a layup by sophomore Riley Popplewell and a jumper by classmate Morgan Williams before Thorpe put Upstate in front with her converted layup while being fouled.
 
NCCU turned over the ball on the ensuing possession and senior Brittney Delva made two free throws with 16.4 seconds left to extend the home cushion to three points. The Eagles went for a potential game-tying, contested three-pointer out of a timeout that missed and Thorpe followed with two accurate free throws to cap the final flurry.
 
Junior Rodneysha Martin scored 14 points and dished out a game-high five assists. Afriyie's 12 points was her fifth straight double-digit performance. Adams chipped in seven points, three assists and three steals. Junior Jayla Calhoun pulled down 10 rebounds and Afriyie grabbed seven boards.
 
The Eagles, who led for nearly 37 minutes, missed all five of their three-point attempts in the second half after making 9 of 19 tries from beyond the arc in the first half.
 
Thorpe tacked on four steals, three assists and three rebounds to her 28-point performance. Freshman Anda Kuzmina contributed 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers to start Upstate's fourth-quarter comeback. Williams totaled 11 points.
 
NCCU (2-11) begins Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play with a road trip to Dover, Delaware, to play Delaware State University on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.