The USC Upstate women's basketball team will test themselves against one of the nation's top programs as they visit the South Carolina Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C. on Thursday.  Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and the broadcast is available on the SEC Network+.   South Carolina enters the contest ranked 5^th in the AP Poll and 6^th in the Coaches Poll.

Upstate (3-2) is coming off the lowest shooting percentage (37.2%) and scoring output of the year, in a 87-43 loss to at Jacksonville on Tuesday. Points off turnovers played a huge role in the outcome as the Dolphins took direct advantage of a season high 35 turnovers for Upstate, converting those into 41 points.  Brianna Lewis (Sr., Chicago, Ill.) leads the team in scoring averaging 15.4 points per game and freshman Quadijah Moore (Greenwood, S.C.) is averaging 10 points per game for the Spartans.

The contest against the Gamecocks is the second all-time meeting with the previous meeting coming 9 years ago, December 16, 2008, with South Carolina winning 71-57.

The Gamecocks (4-0) lead the nation in blocked shots per game at 12.8 and are holding opponents to 49 points per game (13^th in the nation). In their last outing, the Gamecocks held Appalachian State to 26.9% shooting from the floor in a 92-50 victory on Sunday.  South Carolina is led by freshman Zia Cooke who averages 14.8 points per game and is joined in double figures by senior Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (13.0 ppg) and fellow freshman Aliyah Boston (12.8 ppg).  In addition, Boston averages 5 blocks per game as well.

This marks the second game in a three-game road trip for the Spartans.  Upstate will face another SEC foe on November 26 at Georgia.

The next home game for the Spartans will be Saturday, December 14^th at 6:00 p.m. against South Carolina State. Tickets for the contest start at $8.00 for adults or $5.00 for youth (ages 3-17).  To purchase tickets for Upstate Spartans basketball, shop online at upstatespartans.com or call, 864-503-7190.