SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball team improves to 3-0 in the month of December with a 70-53 battering of Charleston Southern on Saturday afternoon in the Eddie and Ann Payne Arena located inside the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
USC Upstate (6-4, 1-0 Big South) began the game on a 7-0 run and never looked back as they forced Charleston Southern (2-8, 0-1 Big South) to use a timeout early in the quarter. With a 1:57 remaining in the opening frame Michaela Gibbons (Troutman, N.C.) knockdown an open three-pointer and the Spartans led 12-2. The Buccaneers fought back as they ended the quarter on a 7-2 run.
 
Charleston Southern's momentum carried over into the second stanza and with 5:18 remaining in the half the Buccaneers trailed 23-20 after a fast break layup. Following the media timeout the Spartans held off Charleston Southern and went into the half leading 31-28.
 
Gibbons led all scorers with 12-points in the opening half and Brianna Lewis (Chicago, Ill.) added 9 points. Tori Gittens led the Buccaneers with 11-points off the bench.
 
At the start of the third quarter to the two squads battled back-and-forth with the Spartans holding a 40-35 advantage with 5:21 remaining in the period. The turning point in the quarter came at the 2:45 mark, Charleston Southern drained a pair of free throws to pull within a pair of the Spartans at 40-38. USC Upstate ended the quarter on a 9-0 run giving the Spartans an 11-point cushion heading into the final period.
 
USC Upstate scored the opening baskets of the fourth quarter and held a 15-point lead. The Spartans never looked back as the held a 17-point lead on three different occasions in the quarter and won by a final score of 70-53.  

Notes
Upstate- Brianna Lewis scored a season high 24-points in the win and added 6 assists and 5 rebounds to her stat line. Barrett Herring recorded a career high 13-points and was 5-of-6 from the field in 16 minutes of action. Michaela Gibbons ended the game with 12-points and Riley Popplewell had a season high 13 rebounds and four steals in the win. Herring and Popplewell combined for four of the teams five blocks on the afternoon.

Charleston Southern – Ahlea Myers led the Buccaneers with 16-points off the bench and Tori Gittens contributed 11-points. Tierra Steede added 9-points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with five on the day.

UP next for the Spartans
USC Upstate will head to Buies Creek, N.C., to play Campbell on Tuesday, December 31. The game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.
 
The Spartans next home game will be on Monday, January 6 against UNC Asheville. The game is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start time.  

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