Charleston, S.C. – Senior Riley Popplewell notched a double-double with a full stat line featuring a career-high 18 rebounds and season-high 21 points Tuesday night as USC Upstate defeated Charleston Southern 71-64. The Spartans overcame a slow start to score 47 second half points and pick up their first road win since January 10, 2019.

Popplewell got USC Upstate (8-15, 3-11 BSC) on the board a minute and a half into the contest and later pulled the Spartans with four points of Charleston Southern (3-20, 1-13 BSC) on a rare 3-pointer with 3:32 remaining in the opening frame. Brianna Lewis evened things up at 13 with a jumper in the final minute of the quarter. Popplewell ended the period with nine points and seven rebounds.

After an early set of free throws from the Bucs, Michaela Gibbons' put-back tied things right back up before Lewis hit a pair of free throws to give the Spartans their first lead of the night at 17-15. Shelby Glance pushed the lead back up to 20-17 with a 3-pointer 30 seconds later. Popplewell then, all within a second of play, pulled down an offensive rebound and hit a pair of free throws to secure her 12^th career double-double midway through the second quarter. The Bucs answered with a 12-2 run to close the first half with a 29-24 lead.

Anda Kuzmina opened the second half with a jumper nine seconds into the third quarter before hitting a three from Lewis to pull within 33-31 of Charleston Southern. Popplewell then sparked a 15-0 run, which would prove detrimental to the Bucs, with an under-the-basket layup. The run spanned almost five minutes and saw nine straight points from Lewis. Popplewell took her rebound for a reverse layup and then threw a steal down the court to Kuzmina who capped the run with a layup with 2:20 left in the period. Upstate closed the third quarter ahead 48-39.

Charleston Southern hit an early three in the final period, but Lillian Flantos answered with a long three of her own 11 seconds later. The Bucs seemed to be closing in on Upstate's lead, coming within two points of the Spartans at 59-57 on a 3-pointer with 3:27 remaining, but Upstate answered with six straight points and hit eight free throws in the final minute of play to secure the 71-64 victory.
 
Notes

Upstate – Popplewell finished the night with a full stat line pacing all scorers in the game with 21 points beside 18 rebounds, an assist, three steals, and two blocks. The senior is now 69 points away from 1,000 and five boards shy of 700. Lewis also had a 20-point effort with four assists and a pair of steals. Kuzmina has made five consecutive starts and ended tonight's contest with a season-high 14 points.

Charleston Southern – The Bucs were led in scoring by Sharita Godfrey with 14 points. Tierra Steede and Tyra Wright each pulled down 10 rebounds.

UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans take a week off before returning to the Hodge on Tuesday, Feb. 18 when they host Hampton University at 6:00 p.m.

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Start at $8.00 (adults), $5.00 (ages 3-17); 864-503-7190 and upstatespartans.com/tickets.

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