SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Coming back off a 10-day layoff, USC Upstate women's basketball knocked off the rust and then some as the Spartans secured their fourth straight victory while staying perfect at the G.B. Hodge Center and snapping an eight-game series losing streak against Jacksonville.
 
For the third consecutive game, freshman Rachael Rose and redshirt sophomore Chellia Watson led Upstate offensively as the guard duo combined to score 37 points while shooting 13-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Rose poured in a game-high 19 points, adding six assists, as Watson wasn't far behind with 18 points of her own with the duo each pulling in eight rebounds each.
 
Rounding out a trio of double-figure scorers—a trend in the team's four-game winning streak—freshman guard Terah Harness added 12 points, including a pair of treys. Finishing just shy of double-figures, senior forward Molly Coleman chipped in nine points as she also tallied a pair of blocks in the game while junior guard Jada Logan added six points and contributed four rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 70; Jacksonville 53
Records: USC Upstate (6-2; 0-0 Big South); Jacksonville (7-3; 0-0 ASUN)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Quarter

• Starting the game's scoring, Upstate opened the game on a 10-0 scoring run—the team's longest of the game. Terah Harness and Chellia Watson knocked down three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to open the run before a Rachael Rose steal led to a Harness layup, forcing a Jacksonville timeout. Out of the timeout, Jada Logan drew a charge before Watson hit a floater as she and Harness scored five apiece in the run.
• After Jacksonville broke the run with a three, the Spartans immediately answered with a 5-0 run as Rose and Logan alternated baskets and assists with Rose knocking down a three off a Logan assist and Logan laying one in on the fastbreak off a Rose assist.

Second Quarter

• Chipping away at Upstate's double-digit lead, Jacksonville opened the second quarter on a 10-4 run to trim the Spartan advantage to six.
• Pushing the Spartans' lead back to double-digits, Upstate answered the 10-4 Dolphin run with a 6-2 run of its own with Denijsha Wilson, Molly Coleman, and Harness scoring two points apiece.
• Over the final minute of the half, Jacksonville embarked on a 7-0 run to trim Upstate's lead to a single possession. With the game at a single possession for the first time since the early minutes of the game, Coleman's layup extended the Spartan lead to five heading into the locker room.

Third Quarter

• Extending the team's lead back to double-figures, Upstate opened the half on a 5-0 run to extend the lead to 10 before Jacksonville answered with a basket of its own. Pushing the team's run to 10-2 overall to open the half, Upstate's lead extended to 13 points.
• Following a pair of Jacksonville free throws, Upstate closed the quarter on a 13-5 run spurred by eight points from Rose with Harness and Logan adding three and two points, respectively. Tallying two points and assisting on three made three-pointers, Logan was responsible for 11 of the run's 13 points.

Fourth Quarter

• Looking to keep the Upstate lead below 20 points, Jacksonville opened the quarter with two of the period's first three baskets, tallying five total points.
• Seeing their lead trimmed to 16, the Spartans used a 6-0 run to push their advantage to 22—the game's largest lead as Watson, Rose, and Logan each scored two points each on consecutive possessions.

 
Notable

• Winning 70-53 Monday night, Upstate snapped an eight-game losing streak to Jacksonville that dated back to the Spartans' time in the ASUN. The victory also pushed the team's winning streak to four games, the longest under head coach Becky Burke (2020-pres.) and the longest since a six-game winning streak during the 2015-16 season.
• Each of the Spartans' four victories in its streak has featured three double-figure scorers as Rachael Rose (19 points), Chellia Watson (18), and Terah Harness (12) scored 10 or more points. Dating back to last season, Upstate has seen multiple double-figure scores in each of the last 12 games.
• Shooting 54.3 percent from the field (25-of-46) against Jacksonville, Monday's shooting performance marked the team's best shooting percentage against a Division I opponent since shooting 61.4 percent from the floor against Gardner-Webb on January 23, 2021.
• Upstate's 57.1 percent shooting percentage (8-of-14) from beyond the arc Monday marked the program's best three-point field goal percentage since shooting 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from three against Hampton on January 15, 2021.
• Forcing 18 Jacksonville turnovers Monday, Upstate extended its streak of games forcing 17 or more turnovers to nine games, dating back to last season, including each of the Spartans' eight games this season.

 
JOIN UP
Make a difference in the lives of USC Upstate student-athletes!  Donate to the USC Upstate U Club today!

Keep UP with the Spartans
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics
Twitter | @UpstateWBB @UpstateSpartans
Instagram | @UpstateWBB @UpstateSpartans
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans