NORFOLK, Va. – USC Upstate women's basketball dropped a road contest to Old Dominion University Sunday afternoon, 73-39. The Spartans fall to 2-3 overall on the season ahead of their first Big South Conference matchup this coming week.

The Spartans started the game off with high energy as they won possession of the opening tip-off, and Dakota McCaughan shut down an early offensive opportunity for Old Dominion by forcing a tie up. However, it would take nearly six minutes for Upstate to get on the board on a pair of free throws from Denijsha Wilson. Lillian Flantos then knocked down a long-range jumper to make it 9-4 Monarchs with 3:44 remaining in the first period. McCaughan pulled the Spartans within four points with a 3-pointer off a side dribble in the final minute of the frame, but Old Dominion ended the opening quarter with a 15-9 advantage.

Anda Kuzmina made it a five-point game at 17-12 with a triple in the first minute of the second frame. Later, Marnicha Prudent drew a foul while driving in for a layup and knocked down both free throws with 5:58 left in the second period. Molly Coleman connected on a turnaround layup from Prudent at 5:25 before Prudent returned to the line about a minute later where she stayed perfect on free throws. Coleman found a pass from Kuzmina for an inside jumper to make it 32-20 ODU with 3:51 left in the quarter, and the Spartans would head into the halftime break trailing 41-22 after a layup from Wilson in the final minute. Wilson led Upstate with six points and four rebounds in the first half.

Upstate opened the scoring in the second half with a Coleman layup from Wilson at 9:21, and the duo would connect again a couple minutes later for an under-the-basket layup by Coleman. With 6:19 left in the third period, Wilson inbounded the ball to Flantos for a layup to make it 47-28, still in favor of the Monarchs. Old Dominion ended a game-wide scoring drought that spanned 2:29 with a triple at 3:52. Gift Sampson later drove all the way in for a layup with 44 seconds remaining before Wilson capped the quarter with a step-over layup in the closing seconds to make it a 56-35 game. Upstate hit just a pair of field goals in the fourth frame, a layup from both Coleman and Sampson.

Notes

• Molly Coleman was the lone Spartan in double-figures today with 10 points. She tied her career-high four rebounds and put up a career-high two blocks.
• Denijsha Wilson was second on the team in scoring with nine points. She also pulled down four boards, contributed four assists, and swiped a pass.
• Maya Timberlake hauled in a career-high five rebounds on the day to lead the Spartans on the glass and had a pair of steals.

UP next for the Spartans
Coach Burke will see her first taste of Big South Conference play as the Spartans travel to Rock Hill to face Winthrop in a back-to-back series Dec. 17-18. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

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