Radford, Va. – Riley Popplewell posted a career-high 26 points with 12 rebounds for a double-double Tuesday night as the Spartans fell to the Highlanders on the road. USC Upstate (8-18, 3-14 BSC) scored 42 points in the second half, but couldn't overcome Radford (14-12, 12-5 BSC) as they dropped the contest 78-57.

Barrett Herring got the Spartans on the board with an and-1 three minutes into the opening frame. After a jumper from Brianna Lewis brought Upstate within one point of Radford at 6-5 with 4:26 left in the first period, the Highlanders went on a 9-0 to take a 10-point lead in the final two minutes. Popplewell's and-1 with 21 second remaining got the Spartans with eight points of the Highlanders, and Upstate closed the first quarter down 21-10.

Lewis opened the second period with a jumper, but Radford held the Spartans to just five points in the frame to enter the halftime break with a 38-15 advantage.

Upstate put up 25 points in the third quarter as Popplewell hit a jumper to start things off seven seconds into the second half. Lewis pulled the Spartans within 12 point of Radford with a 3-pointer in the final 40 seconds of the period, but the Highlanders still held a 14-point lead heading into the final quarter.

The Spartans seemed to be chipping away at Radford's lead in the fourth frame, but Upstate would never come close than 10 points on Herring's jumper with 5:25 left in the game. Radford ended the game on an 11-0 run for the win.
 
Notes
Upstate – Popplewell was 9-of-12 from the field tonight, and her career-high 26 points paced all scorers in the game. With that, she is now 29 points away from 1,000 in her career. She also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Lewis and Herring also scored in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Herring posted three blocks.

Radford – The Highlanders were led offensively by Amele Ngwafang and Makaila Wilson who each had 23 points. Ngwafang also had 11 rebounds for a double-double.

UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans return home on Saturday, February 29 against Gardner-Webb at 2:00 p.m. It's also senior day, and Upstate will honor its five seniors on the court prior to tipoff.

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

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