Box Score (.pdf)

Omaha, Neb. – DeNisha Swain scored a career-high 22 points, while Brianna Lewis added a season-high 20, as the USC Upstate women's basketball team dropped a 96-69 non-conference decision to the Omaha Mavericks on Friday evening at Baxter Arena.

USC Upstate falls to 0-2 on the season while Omaha improves to 1-0 overall.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

• Swain led the Spartans offensively with her career-best 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting while going 4-for-4 behind the 3-point line. She also had four rebounds and four steals.
• Lewis contributed 20 points, five assists and three steals after playing in all 40 minutes.
• Natalia Panufnik and Kathryn Kirkwood each had six points while Riley Popplewell finished with a team-high five rebounds.
• Michaela Gibbons contributed three steals.
• The Mavericks had six players score in double-figures led by Rayanna Carter with 17 points.
• Kalen Phillips added 14 points, Elena Pilakouta 12, Claire Killian and Sophie Johnston 11 each, and Romekia Wallace 10.
• Mariah Murdie grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to go with nine points.
• USC Upstate finished the game shooting 37.3 percent (25-of-67) from the field.
• The Spartans held an 18-15 advantage in points off turnovers.
• Both teams finished the game with 10 fast break points.

FIRST QUARTER BREAKDOWN

• Lewis and Panufnik combined for the game's first four points as USC Upstate led 4-0 less than three minutes into the quarter.
• After Omaha scored the next six points, Swain knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Spartans back ahead 9-8 with 5:20 left.
• The Mavericks used a 9-2 run over the following four minutes to take a 17-11 lead.
• Swain scored the last five points on a 3-pointer and layup to put USC Upstate down 17-16 after the opening quarter.

SECOND QUARTER BREAKDOWN

• Popplewell kept the Spartans within one at 19-18 to start the second quarter after her layup at the 9:30 mark.
• Omaha later increased its lead to nine points, 27-18, but Rylie Parkhurst responded with a 3-pointer to make the score 27-21 with 7:23 to go.
• The Mavericks closed out the quarter on a 22-0 run, covering the final 6:56, and held a 49-21 lead at halftime.

THIRD QUARTER BREAKDOWN

• USC Upstate outscored Omaha 26-22 in the third quarter.
• A 3-point play from Johnston gave the Mavericks a 56-23 advantage with 8:35 remaining.
• The Spartans answered with a 13-6 run over the next three minutes and trimmed their deficit down to 62-36 at the 5:30 mark on a jumper from Panufnik.
• USC Upstate got as close as 24 points twice the remainder of the quarter with the last coming at 71-47 with 21 seconds left on Swain's layup.

FOURTH QUARTER BREAKDOWN

• Gibbons continued the Spartans run into the fourth quarter as her jumper six seconds into the period cut the lead down to 71-49.
• Omaha took its largest lead of the game at 85-51 with 5:47 left.
• Lewis and Swain helped lead an 8-0 run for USC Upstate that covered 1:33 as it trailed 85-59 with 4:03 to go.
• The Mavericks extended their lead back to 30 points, 89-59, less two minutes later.
• The Spartans outscored Omaha 10-2 for the next 2:08, with seven of the points coming from Lewis, and cut the score down to 91-69 with 51 seconds left after Lewis' 3-point play.
• The Mavericks recorded the final five points to put the final score at 96-69.

UP NEXT

• USC Upstate concludes its season-opening three-game road trip on Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. EST against Nebraska.

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