SPARTANBUG, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball team will hit the road for the first time this season with a trip to East Carolina University on Friday evening.
 
The USC Upstate women's basketball (1-0) team is coming off an electric home opener against Florida A&M on Tuesday night. The Spartans defeated the Lady Rattlers 74-61 in front of the raucous crowd and held the lead for all but four minutes in the game. The Spartans defense appeared dialed in and focus during the season opener as they held Florida A&M to 29 percent shooting on the night. The Spartans defense also recorded eight blocks and 10 steals against the Lady Rattlers.
 
Senior guard Brianna Lewis (Chicago, Ill.) registered a double-double with a team high 19 points and 12 assists in the contest. The 12 assists were a new career high for Chicago native and the third most ever in a USC Upstate game. Freshman forward Quadijah Moore (Greenwood, S.C.) made quiet the debut for the Spartans with 13 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in the game.
 
Jada Logan (Rutherfordton, N.C.) scored 11 points and dished out 6 assists in her Spartan debut, while senior Riley Popplewell (Union Mills, Ind.) contributed 10 points and 8 rebounds in the contest. Michaela Gibbons (Troutman, N.C.) and Kathryn Kirkwood (Milwaukee, Wisc.) both scored seven points for the Spartans, with Gibbons leading the team in steals with five.
 
This marks the third consecutive season in which the Spartans and East Carolina (0-1) have played one another. The Pirates hold a 2-0 record over USC Upstate but in both instances the Spartans fell in double figures. Last season the Spartans lost 63-53 to East Carolina, Lewis led the team in scoring with 18 points and Popplewell contributed a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. One interesting fact to note is that in both losses the Spartans scored exactly 53 points.
 
The Pirates are coming off a home opening 68-66 loss to Middle Tennessee State on Wednesday morning. East Carolina played in front of a program record 6,509 fans and nearly sent them home happy but time ran out before they could erase a 14-point deficit. Four Pirates scored in double-figures with Lashonda Monk leading the way with 20 points. Raven Johnson produced a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards in the season opener. The Pirates were just 1-13 from beyond the arch and just 1-8 from the free throw line in the loss to the Blue Raiders.
 
Friday night's game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., tickets to the event can be purchased at www.ecupirates.com and live links to both the video and stats feed can be found at www.upstatespartans.com.
 
The Spartans return home to the Hodge Center, Tuesday, November 12 for the annual "Education Day" game against Western Carolina at 11:00am.  No admission will be charged for the contest with the Catamounts, with over 700 Spartanburg County school children slated to fill the Hodge Center.  The Spartans will host Mars Hill on Saturday, November 16. 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.  Follow Upstate women's basketball on Facebook (UpstateAthletics), Twitter (@UpstateWB), Instagram (@upstatespartans) and YouTube (USCUpstateAthletics).