SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Playing in front of a rowdy home crowd as the regular season draws to a close and final postseason pushes are in full gear, USC Upstate women's basketball fought until the bitter end Wednesday night at the G.B. Hodge Center before ultimately falling to Longwood 71-66 in a first-place battle.
 
Freshman guard Rachael Rose secured her third double-double of the season behind a 20-point, 11-rebound performance with her total on the boards representing a career-high. She finished the night shooting 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the floor while adding six assists and three steals to her point and rebound totals.
 
Joining Rose in double-figures, redshirt sophomore guard Chellia Watson added 16 points on 7-of-19 shooting, chipping in five assists and two steals. On the boards, Rose was joined in double-figures by junior guard Jada Logan who pulled in a career-high 17 rebounds for the second straight game.
 
Game Information
Score: Longwood 71; USC Upstate 66
Records: USC Upstate (21-7; 13-4 Big South); Longwood (17-11; 14-3 Big South)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Quarter

• Answering a Longwood free throw, Upstate used a short run behind a Rachael Rose layup and a Jada Logan jumper to stake an early lead. The Spartans would build up a 6-2 scoring stretch to double-up the Lancers with 5:31 to play as Chellia Watson added a jumper to Rose and Logan's markers.
• Longwood began to flip the game as they outpaced Upstate 9-1 over a three-and-a-half-minute stretch of the quarter. Watson stymied the run with a layup in the final seconds to pull the Spartans within three at the quarter break.

Second Quarter

• Regaining momentum at the start of the quarter, Upstate added a 7-0 run to Watson's final two points of the first quarter to build a 9-0 run spanning the two quarters while building a four-point advantage.
• The Lancers countered with a 5-0 scoring run before the Spartans came back with a 6-0 stretch to quickly retake the lead. Upstate stayed a step ahead of Longwood throughout the remainder of the half, taking a seven-point advantage into the locker room.

Third Quarter

• Upstate tacked on the first five points of the second half to grow its lead to 12, its largest of the game with 7:57 to play in the quarter. Rose led the charge scoring each of the points with a three-ball and a layup.
• Longwood began chewing into the Spartan lead as the quarter progressed, outscoring Upstate 15-4 following the extension of the lead to double-digits, pulling within one. The two teams scored with one another for the remainder of the quarter as Upstate held a slim advantage into the final frame.

Fourth Quarter

• Swinging momentum, the Lancers opened the final stanza on an 11-5 scoring stretch, building their lead to five with 6:32 to play. Upstate, however, answered with a 7-0 run of their own to pull back ahead by two.
• Over the final five-plus minutes of the game, Longwood remained just a step ahead, outpacing Upstate 13-6 down the stretch to pull out the five-point victory.

 
Notable

• For the second consecutive game, Jada Logan corralled 17 rebounds for the Spartans. The total tied a career-high for the junior while representing her sixth double-figure rebounding total of the season.
• Leading the Spartans with 20 points and adding 11 boards, Rachael Rose notched her third career double-double. Reaching double-digit rebounds, Logan and Rose became the first set of teammates with 10-plus rebounds in the same game since February 5, 2021.
• Seeing Rose and Watson tally double-figures Wednesday night, Upstate continued its streak of games with multiple double-figure scorers. The streak extends to 32 games, including all 28 this season.

 
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