Spartanburg, S.C. -- Jama Sharp led five Hatters in double figures with 20 points as visiting Stetson defeated USC Upstate 92-66 Thursday night at the Hodge Center.
Myeisha Hall scored 18 points and Sarah Sagerer registered a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Hatters (19-6, 8-3 Atlantic Sun), who won their 19th game of the season.
“I was very happy,” Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. “I thought we had a good balanced attack. I thought Jama Sharp and Myeisha Hall were on fire in the first half. They really hit a lot of shots and opened the game up.”
Stetson dominated the opening 20 minutes, scoring 55 points and hitting eight 3-pointers. The Hatters led by 22 points at halftime and never let Upstate pull any closer in the second half.
Stetson owned a 50-33 advantage on the glass, which included 21 offensive rebounds.
“I was probably most proud of our rebounding,” Bria said. “It was probably the best rebounding game we have had since I have been at Stetson. We had 21 offensive rebounds, and the effort was outstanding today.”
After missing the last two games with an injury, Amber Porter returned to the line-up and scored 12 points in 16 minutes.
“It felt good to be back,” Porter said after the game. “Everyone is getting used to playing together and we are sharing the ball well.”
Both Porter and Sagerer started together for the first time this season, giving Stetson two 6-foot-3 players in the starting line-up.
“It's going to be hard for teams to defend both of us at the same time,” Porter said.
Bria also said that having the twin towers in the game adds another dimension defensively for the Hatters. Sagerer had two blocks on Thursday and Porter added one.
Sharp and Hall each made four 3-pointers for the Hatters, who hit 10 3-pointers for the game and shot 43 percent from the floor.
Stetson also had solid contributions off the bench as C.J. Coddington scored 10 points, Aisha Turner tallied nine points, and DeAsia Beal had three steals and six rebounds in 23 minutes of action.
In addition, Brianti Saunders chipped in seven points and added four assists.
Stetson will go for its 20th win of the year at 2 p.m. Saturday at Kennesaw State.
Notes: Stetson did not clinch a home game for the A-Sun quarterfinals Thursday but can clinch the No. 2 seed outright with a win on Saturday ... The Hatters hit 10+ 3-pointers for the third straight game, increasing their three-game total to 31 ... The Hatters have won eight straight vs. USC Upstate ... Myeisha Hall hit her 100th career 3-pointer in the first half ... Once again, the Hatters have four players averaging over 13.0 points a game.
