FARMVILLE, Va. – USC Upstate women's basketball came out on the unfortunate end of a back-and-forth battle with Longwood Tuesday night on the road, dropping game two of the two-game series 54-52. In a game that saw eight lead changes and nine tied scores, it was a fight to the finish as neither team ever led by more than five points.

Jada Logan gave the Spartans their first lead of the night four minutes into the opening period, and after Longwood evened things back up at 7-7, Denjsha Wilson retook the lead for Upstate on a triple from Maya Timberlake with 3:32 to go. The Lancers immediately countered that with another trey and Longwood held a 17-14 edge at the end of the first.

Another Wilson 3-pointer tied things up at 21-21 midway through the second quarter, and a pair of jumpers from Timberlake and a free throw from Wilson helped send the game into halftime knotted up at 29-all. Neither team led by more than four points in the first half.

A 6-0 run spanning 1:41 midway through the third frame gave Upstate a four-point advantage, and the squad was able to hold onto that lead for the rest of the period to head into the final frame up 41-37 over the Lancers.

Dakota McCaughan pushed Upstate to the biggest lead of the night of five points with a 3-pointer at 8:38 in the fourth quarter, and Marnicha Prudent's pair of free throws got Upstate's lead back to five with 5:31 left in the game. Longwood fought back, however, to regain the lead at 3:39 on a 6-0 run, and the Spartans and Lancers spent the last three minutes exchanging baskets. Upstate called a timeout with four seconds left down by two, and unfortunately could not get the last-second shot to fall and Longwood held on for the close win.

Notes

• Denijsha Wilson led Upstate in scoring with 12 points in the game. She also contributed four assists.
• Maya Timberlake hit double-figures on the scoresheet with 10 points.
• Jada Logan made her first start of the season and notched a season-high seven points along with six rebounds and an assist.
• Marnicha Prudent led the Spartan bench with 11 points on the night. She also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
• Molly Coleman had a block, steal, and assist in addition to her seven points and six rebounds.

UP next for the Spartans
Upstate returns to the Hodge this weekend to host Presbyterian College in a back-to-back Big South Conference series. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 10.

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