SPARTANBURG, SC— USC Upstate junior guard Tamera Thorpe scored a game-high 25 points  in the Spartans 74-67 win over visiting NJIT in ASUN conference action on Saturday afternoon at the G.B. Hodge Center. 

Thorpe shot 5-for-9 from the field while shooting 15-for-18 from the free-throw line.  Her fifteen free-throws made and eighteen free-throws attempted were new career-highs for the junior guard.  Anda Kuzmina finished the game with 13 points while Morgan Williams recorded 10 points. 

Senior guard Brittney Delva scored nine points, all from the free-throw line (9-for-12).  

NJIT's senior Kelly Guarino paced the Highlanders with 19 points for her second-straight game.  She shot 7-for-16 overall while shooting 5-for-11 from three-point range.  Ellyn Stoll, Tatianna Torres and Dez Allen all had nine points for NJIT. 

The first half between NJIT and USC Upstate was played close to the vest as the Spartans led 36-29 at halftime.  Kelly Guarino led all scorers with eight points as she went 3-for-8 from the field, hitting two three-pointers.  Upstate's Tamera Thorpe and DeNisha Swain paced the Spartans in the first half as both players recorded seven points. 

NJIT shot 31.3% from the field in the first half (10-of-32) while USC Upstate shots 37.9% (11-of-29) from the field.  Both teams hit four three-pointers in the first half, while USC Upstate was 10-for-13 (76.9%) from the free-throw line.  NJIT was just 5-for-8 (62.5%). 

The second half was no different as NJIT outscored USC Upstate 18-16 in the third quarter, while USC Upstate got the upper hand in the fourth quarter (22-20).  NJIT got as close as two points when they trailed 53-51, but USC Upstate finished the game on a 21-12 run. 

The Spartans, who  shot 77.5% from the field (31-for-40), finishes the regular season at 11-18, 6-8 in the ASUN.  NJIT drops to 4-25 overall and 2-12 in the ASUN.

NJIT will open the ASUN Conference playoffs on the road at FGCU on Friday, March 2.