SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Riley Popplewell posted a double-double and Brianna Lewis put up 20 points Saturday afternoon, but USC Upstate women's basketball fell 70-59 to Gardner-Webb on senior day inside the G.B. Hodge Center. Barrett Herring also set a career-high with 15 rebounds in the game.
Gardner-Webb blew it open in the opening period, starting the game on an 8-0 run before ending the first quarter with a 21-9 lead. The Spartans (8-19, 3-15 BSC) answered back in the second frame by outscoring the Bulldogs (17-11, 12-7 BSC) 22-9.
Anda Kuzmina opened the scoring in the second frame with a jumper one minute in, and the Spartans spent the quarter chipping away at their deficit. Back-to-back buckets for Upstate about four minutes into the period cut the deficit to single digits as Lewis hit a layup from Kuzmina before Michaela Gibbons made a jumper from Barrett Herring. About a minute later, Popplewell pushed a steal down the court to Gibbons for a 3-pointer. After a jumper from Lewis, Gibbons hit another trey to pull the Spartans within two points of the Bulldogs. Popplewell hit a pair of free throws and Lewis made another jumper to tie things up at 27, and Popplewell took overcame the early deficit and took the lead with a layup from Lewis with 31 seconds left in the half. Gardner-Webb got a 3-pointer back, but Lewis' jumper in the final two seconds sent the Spartans into halftime with a 31-30 lead after being down by 12 points at the end of the first quarter.
After the first half, Popplewell was leading on the glass with nine rebounds, and Herring had eight. Lewis led the scoring in the first half with 10 points.
Popplewell hit a jumper to put the Spartans up 33-30 in the first minute of the third frame. Gardner-Webb took the next five points to regain the lead, but Jada Logan evened things right back up at 35 with a layup from Popplewell. The Bulldogs then went on a 9-0 run, and though Upstate hit five free throws in the last three minutes, the Spartans entered the final frame down 51-40.
Lewis put up eight points in the final period and the Spartans matched up with the Bulldogs in the frame, but Upstate ultimately could not overcome the third period deficit as they fell 70-59.
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Notes
Upstate – Popplewell posted 11 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for her 14th career double-double. The senior is 18 points shy of 1,000 career points with two regular-season games remaining. Herring's career-high 15 boards tonight led both teams on the glass, and Lewis also posted a game-high 20 points.
Upstate outshot Gardner-Webb from the field 33.3 percent to 32.9 percent. The Spartans also outrebounded the Bulldogs 54-43.
Seniors Brianna Lewis, Breanna Jefferson, Natalia Panufnik, Rylie Parkhurst, and Riley Popplewell along with manager Bryana Anderson were honored at midcourt in a pregame ceremony for senior day.
Gardner-Webb – Three Bulldogs scored in double-figures on the day, led by Jhessyka Williams with 17 points. She also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds and had four steals. Lauren Bevis and Carly Plentovich posted 11 and 10 points, respectively.
UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans are on the road for their final two games of the regular season, beginning with a matchup at Longwood on Wednesday, March 4. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
Tickets
Start at $8.00 (adults), $5.00 (ages 3-17); 864-503-7190 and upstatespartans.com/tickets.
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