BUIES CREEK, N.C.- Campbell,
looking to snap a five-game losing streak, opens Atlantic Sun
Conference road play on Saturday in Spartanburg, S.C. against USC
Upstate at 1 p.m.
"USC Upstate is extremely
athletic in their guard play," head coach Wanda
Watkins stated. "They have also played well at home this
season. The biggest factor in this game for us is going to be our
offense. I've been very pleased with our defense and hopefully a
change in our offense will help us change the outcomes we've been
getting lately."
This is the first-ever meeting
between the two teams with the Spartans having just joined the
Atlantic Sun Conference this season.
Marlena Murphy
is averaging 13.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game to lead the
Camels (5-10, 0-2 A-Sun). Murphy's is also the conference leader in
rebounding and ranks ninth in the NCAA. Fellow senior
Maggie Rich is second on the team at 8.6 points an
outing. Murphy scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the
58-50 loss to Lipscomb on Jan. 7. Sophomore Lindsay
Smithberger knocked down four three-point field and
totaled 15 points in the loss to the Lady Bisons.
USC Upstate (4-9, 0-1 A-Sun)
looks to end a three-game skid. The Spartans dropped a 96-55
decision to East Tennessee State to open Atlantic Sun play on
Saturday. This week, USC Upstate lost a tough non-conference
matchup to UNC Asheville 62-52. Freshman Kasey
Thompson scored 13 points in the loss to the Buccaneers.
Junior Ebony Johnson pulled down 16 rebounds in
defeat for the Spartans.
Sophomore Courtney
Hawkins has taken over as the team's offensive leader
since star freshman Oceana Jackson was lost for
the season with a knee injury. Hawkins is 12th in the conference at
11.9 points a game. Hawkins does much of her damage from
three-point range and is second in the league at .364 percent from
beyond the arc. Hawkins is also fourth in the conference in steals
at 2.23 per game. Ebony Johnson is the team's best
rebounder and is fifth in the league with eight boards a
game.
Overall, USC Upstate leads the
conference in defensive rebounds (26.46) and ranks third in
three-point field goals a contest (5.38). The Camels are the best
overall rebounding team in the conference with nearly 43 rebounds a
game (42.8). CU is also the third-best defensive team in the league
and are only giving up 63.1 points a game.
The Spartans will have a video
feed and live stats on their website upstatespartans.com.
Following Saturday's contest,
the Camels continue the conference road trip and head to East
Tennessee State (5-8, 1-0 A-Sun) for a game on Jan. 14 at 7
p.m.
