FARMVILLE, Va. – Despite the weather delaying the Spartans' first Big South Conference road game of the 2021-22 season, USC Upstate women's basketball didn't let Mother Nature's cold snap cool them off as Upstate snapped a five-game losing streak to Longwood with a 76-69 victory Wednesday afternoon.
 
Continuing with the hot hand, redshirt sophomore guard Chellia Watson notched her third straight 20-plus points scoring game, scoring a game-high 23 points and shooting 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the floor. Nearing her first career 20-plus point game, freshman guard Terah Harness added a career-best 18 points against the Lancers, finishing 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the floor and 50.0 percent (4-of-8) from three.
 
For the fourth time in conference play, Upstate finished with four scorers in double-figures as freshman guard Rachael Rose and senior forward Molly Coleman joined Watson and Harness with 10-plus points. Rose finished the game 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from the floor, tallying 15 points and seven rebounds while Coleman added 13 points and eight boards for the Spartans.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 76; Longwood 69
Records: USC Upstate (11-4; 3-1 Big South); Longwood (7-10; 4-2 Big South)
Location: Willett Hall | Farmville, Va.
 
How It Happened
First Quarter

• Seeing Longwood open the scoring, Upstate answered in a big way, using its longest scoring stretch of the first quarter to stake a 7-3 lead. Chellia Watson drove the run, scoring all seven of the Spartans' points.
• Spanning the quarter's media timeout, the Spartans crafted a 4-0 scoring run to take the team's largest lead of the quarter, seven points, at 12-5. Molly Coleman opened with a layup before drawing a charge and sending the game to the media. Taking it to the basket for the reverse layup, Dakota McCaughan lifted the Spartans to the seven-point lead.
• Closing the gap and fighting back to take the lead, Longwood used a 10-3 run to close the quarter to lead 17-15 at the break. The Lancers strung together a pair of 5-0 runs with Terah Harness breaking the Longwood momentum with a three from the top of the key.

Second Quarter

• Opening the scoring with a baseline 18-footer from Rachael Rose and a free throw from Watson, Upstate regained the lead to begin the second quarter, leading 18-17.
• Trading shots with Longwood, Terah Harness scored Upstate's next five points, hitting a three and a layup to answer a pair of Lancer threes and tie the game at 18.
• Harness' layup that tied the game at 18 also sparked a game-long scoring run for the Spartans as Upstate exploded to a 12-0 scoring run. Leading the run, Rose knifed her way to the basket on three occasions for a run-long six points with Coleman, Harness, and McCaughan scoring in the stretch.
• Seeing Longwood trim into their lead, trimming the Spartan advantage to six, Upstate finished the half with the quarter's final three points to take a nine-point advantage into the locker room.

Third Quarter

• Opening the second half trading baskets, Upstate outscored Longwood 6-5 over the third quarter's first four minutes to work its lead back to double digits at 10 points.
• Chipping into Upstate's lead, Longwood embarked on an 8-0 scoring run to pull within two, 47-45, ahead of the quarter's media timeout. Ending the run, Watson drained an elbow jumper to ignite a quick 4-0 scoring spurt with Coleman adding a layup to put the Spartans up six.
• Continuing to whittle away at the Spartans' advantage, the Lancers used another extended scoring run, this time 5-0, to cut the lead to one—the slimmest margin of the second half. Upstate, however, answered the run, outscoring Longwood 6-1 to close the half and take a six-point lead into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter

• Cutting back into Upstate's advantage, Longwood opened the quarter on a 7-3 scoring advantage as the Lancers once again cut the Spartan lead to a single possession.
• Scoring five consecutive points after Longwood again pulled within two, Harness continued her momentous fourth quarter to extend the lead back to seven. Her five points gave her eight points in the quarter to that point as she concluded the game with 10 fourth-quarter points.
• Making her final basket of the quarter, a driving layup, Harness began a 5-2 scoring stretch for the Spartans over the game's final minute as Upstate iced the 76-69 victory.

 
Notable

• Scoring 23 points against Longwood Wednesday, Chellia Watson secured her third consecutive and team-leading fourth 20-plus point scoring effort. She becomes the first Spartan since Brianna Lewis from Feb. 29, 2020, to March 7, 2020, to score 20 or more points in three consecutive games.
• Seeing a 20-plus point scorer in each of the team's first four Big South Conference games, Upstate's current streak of games with a 20-plus point scorer is the longest for the team since seeing four such scorers over the season's final four games during the 2020-21 slate.
• Nearing Watson in scoring 20 or more points, Terah Harness dropped in a career-high 18 markers Wednesday afternoon. The game marked the second over the last three to see Upstate finish a game with a 20-plus point scorer and a player finishing a made-basket shy of 20 points.
• With four double-figure scorers again Wednesday against Longwood, Upstate has seen four double-figure scorers in each of the team's first four conference games. The Spartans also extended their streak of games with multiple double-figure scorers to 19 consecutive games, including all 15 this season.

 
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