SPARTANBURG, S.C.—The USC Upstate women's basketball team dominated the St. Andrews Knights 86-40 in their home opener Saturday afternoon at the Eddie and Ann Payne arena inside the G.B. Hodge Center. The Spartans improved to 1-2 on the season as they picked up head coach Becky Burke's first win with Upstate.

The game started out with a banger with freshman Dakota McCaughan draining a triple seconds after the jump ball.  The Knights played hard defense and shot better in the second quarter. However, St. Andrews was no match to the Spartans shooting well throughout the first half. With good communication and the ability to move the ball nearly seamlessly, the Spartans finished the first half ahead of the Knights 45-26.

The Spartans started the second half in the same full-speed fashion, and securing steals and getting to the free-throw line allowed the Spartans to capitalize off the Knights' mistakes. Minutes before the fourth quarter, Denijsha Wilson's and-one layup energized the Upstate bench. With less than one second on the clock at the end of the third quarter, the Knights hit a 3-pointer to bring the score to 70-33. Yet, the Knights could not come near closing the gap and the Spartans got the 86-40 victory on home court.

Notes

• The Spartans shot 53 percent from the field and forced 30 turnovers.
• Five Spartans scored in double figures, led by Wilson with a game-high 19 points. She also pulled down six rebounds.
• McKinley Brooks-Sumpter followed her Upstate debut with another double-digit performance, putting up 15 points. She had three steals on the day.
• Maya Timberlake scored a career-high 11 points alongside four rebounds and a pair of steals.
• Lillian Flantos led on the glass with seven rebounds in addition to three steals.

Sunday, the USC Upstate women's basketball game will host Flagler College at 2pm.

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