SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upstate women's basketball earned back-to-back wins for the first time this season as the Spartans downed the Cavaliers of Montreat College 60-41 on Wednesday night in the G.B. Hodge Center. AC Markham led the Spartans with 11 points with Jeni Levine just behind her with 10 points along with numerous Spartans earning career highs and season highs. 

Upstate applied pressure early on, showing solid defense while taking a commanding lead in the first quarter. AC Markham started things off, getting Upstate on the board with a hook shot. Jeni Levine and Rebekah Gordon helped continue the offensive run with two points each. Jeni Levine had an impressive quarter, scoring six points, along with one rebound and one assist. Isabella Geraci and Markham also sported four rebounds each. The Spartans went 38.5% for field goals in the first quarter including going 50.0% from the free throw line to finish the first ten minutes leading 14-7. 

Montreat scored first to start the second quarter just before Vera Soderblom earned her first points of the game and Trinity Johnson sank two free throws. A three-pointer from Johnson and a pullup jumper from Markham gave Upstate a 10-point lead. With less than two minutes before the half Upstate sat with an 11-point lead as the score read 25-14 in favor of the home team. Three points from Rebekah Gordon helped Upstate maintain the lead into half as they went into the break 29-19. Johnson led the Spartans in the second quarter with five points with Gordon just behind her with four. Geraci earned five rebounds and earned her first block of the season. Upstate went 42.9% for field goals and 100% for free throws in the second quarter. 

Coming out of the halftime break, Markham wasted little time getting the Upstate offense going again scoring a hook shot along with the and one, putting her at nine points in the game. Geraci continued the scoring run with a driving layup to extend the lead to 15. Montreat responded with a layup which then turned into two minutes of scoreless play until the Cavaliers hit a three-point jump shot to bring the game back within 10. Layups from Johnson, Jeni Levine, and Nyla Walker helped Upstate carry its lead into the fourth quarter, with the Spartans sitting ahead 40-27. Markham went 1-1 for field goals and 1-1 for free throws while Johnson (3) and Courtney Turner (4) racked up the rebounds.  

With 10 minutes to go, the Spartans gave their final push to ensure a second straight home victory. Despite Montreat posting four points quickly into the quarter, Upstate was able to maintain a double-digit lead with their highest lead being 16-points with just over three minutes left to play. That 16-point lead reached a peak of 19-points just before the game ended with Courtney Turner earning her first career points to finish the game. Vera Soderblom finished the fourth quarter with six points to conclude her stellar performance, while Geraci contributed five to the quarter as well. Turner not only scored her first points but also was credited with four rebounds while Nyla Walker had two steals.  

 
 
Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 60; Montreat 41 
Records: USC Upstate (3-6, 0-0 Big South); Montreat (8-4, 0-0 AAC) 
Location: G.H. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.   

How It Happened: 

First Quarter: 

• AC Markham kicked off a six-point run, as Markham,  Jeni Levine, and Rebekah Gordon all tallied two apiece. 

• Montreat got on the board with a three-pointer with just over six minutes in the opening quarter.  

• Nyla Walker added two to the score before Montreat got inside for a layup to make the game 8-5. 

• Jeni Levine helped get some distance from the Cavaliers with a three-pointer and a made free throw with less than two in the quarter.  

Second Quarter: 

• Montreat hit a three from the corner to cut down the Spartans lead to four points. Vera Soderblom quickly responded with a layup to keep the game six points out of reach for Montreat. 

• Trinity Johson landed two free throws, to make the game 18-10 and personally to go 3-4 from the free throw line.  

• Johnson knocked down a three just before AC Markham hit a pullup jumper to give the Spartans a double-digit lead with five and a half left in the quarter. 

• With 1:20 left in the half, Montreat put two free throws down which Rebekah Gordon responded with back-to-back layups to make the game 29-16 

• One final three-pointer for Montreat made the game 29-19 with the Spartans leading by 10 at the half.  

Third Quarter: 

• Markham got Upstate's scoring started again coming out of the break with a hook shot and a free throw to make the game 34-19. 

• Montreat responded with a layup to make the game 34-21 which would commence two minutes of scoreless play before the Cavaliers sank a three-pointer to put the game within 10. 

• Markham earned her second assist as Johnson's layup put Upstate to 36. 

• With two left in the quarter, Jeni Levine scored a layup, giving Upstate an 11-point lead. 

• Nyla Walker closed out the third quarter with a layup, putting the Spartans in a comfortable position with a 13-point lead going into the final ten minutes.  

Fourth Quarter: 

• The Cavaliers went 1-2 for free throws to start the fourth quarter before Sofia Allen got her first points of the game off a layup.  

• Montreat went on a four-point run to cut Upstate's lead down to 10 with 7:30 left in the game.  

• After two minutes of scoreless play, Jeni Levine hit a pullup jumper which was followed by a big three-pointer from Isabella Geraci to make the game 49-35 with under four remaining.  

• Vera Soderblom extends Upstate's lead as her layup pushes the Spartans to 51. 

• Four more points from Soderblom and two from AC Markham helped Upstate sit 57-41 with under a minute on the clock. 

• Courtney Turner tallied the last points of the game to help Upstate win 60-41. 
     

Notable 

• Courtney Turner saw her first minutes as a Spartan in today's match against Montreat (8). 

• Turner also scored her first career points, first career rebounds (8) and first career steal. 

• Vera Soderblom scored a season-high and career-high eight points. Soderblom also recorded her first block, first assist and had a season-high and career-high eight rebounds.  

• Jeni Levine scored a season-high and career-high 10 points. 

• AC Markham led the Spartans in scoring with a season-high and career-high 11 points.  

• Sofia Allen earned her first career block (1) and points (2). 

UP Next for the Spartans 

The Spartans will conclude the week with a road game against No. 7 UNC Chapel Hill on Friday, December 16th at 6:00 p.m. in Chapel Hill.  

  
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