CLINTON, S.C. – USC Upstate women's basketball collected its second Big South loss of the season as the Spartans fell 82-53 to the Blue Hose on Wednesday evening in Clinton, S.C. 

Despite scoring first and establishing a lead early in the game, the Spartans found themselves trailing in the first quarter against the Blue Hose. Presbyterian went on a nine-point run to take control of the game until the run was brought to a halt by an Upstate jumper from Talia Roldan. Upstate trailed after the first quarter, 26-14. Roldan led the Spartans with four points while Cali Levine and Trinity Johnson were just behind her with three apiece. Johnson led the team in rebounds with three.  

With plenty of time left in the game, Upstate continued to fight to for a comeback win. Presbyterian went on an eight-point run which took up most of the second quarter until AC Markham scored a layup and the and-one to make the game 34-16 with just under two and a half minutes left in the half. The Blue Hose were able to push their score to 40 before Upstate scored its final points of the second quarter to finish the first half 40-22. Markham found some momentum in the second quarter, leading the Upstate offense with six points while Isabella Geraci was credited with four rebounds.  

Upstate posted three points coming out of the break to bring the game within 15 points, but Presbyterian was able to keep furthering its lead. Both Upstate and Presbyterian continued to exchange buckets through the third quarter with Upstate taking 11 shots and Presbyterian taking 18. Upstate went 5-11 (45.5%) for field goals in the second quarter and 5-8 for free throws (62.5%). Roldan once again stepped up to lead Upstate's offense as she scored five points and had two rebounds.  

The final quarter was played in similar fashion to the third quarter, as USC Upstate remained resilient in its attempt to finish the game strong. Rebekah Gordon scored four points for the Spartans to start the quarter before Presbyterian responded with five points. In the final five minutes, Upstate scored nine points compared to the 11 points Presbyterian scored. Roldan and Gordon posted four points respectively while Markham led the team through the final quarter with two rebounds.  

 
Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 53: Presbyterian 82 
Records: USC Upstate (7-10, 4-2 Big South) vs. Presbyterian (8-10, 4-3 Big South)   

Location: Templeton Center | Clinton, S.C.    

How It Happened:  

First Quarter:  

• Trinity Johnson got things started with an early three-pointer. 

• Presbyterian responded with a turnaround jumper to get on the board before Rebekah Gordon hit a turnaround jumper to give Upstate a three-point lead.  

• The Blue Hose then went on a nine-point run to make the game 11-5 in favor of the home team.  

• Talia Roldan broke the point streak with a turnaround jumper to put the game within four.  

• The two teams continued to trade buckets, making the game 26-14 with the Spartans trailing by 12 points.  

Second Quarter:  

• To start the second quarter Presbyterian went on an eight-point game, forcing the Spartans to trail by 20 points.  

• AC Markham got Upstate's offense going again with a layup as well as the and-one. 

• Presbyterian hit back-to-back three-pointers to make the game 40-17.  

• Upstate responded with five additional points before going into halftime.  

Third Quarter:  

• Upstate posted three points following the break but Presbyterian responded with a three-pointer.  

• The Spartans posted another eight-points compared to the 11-points the Blue Hose posted to make the game 54-33.  

• Upstate scored another four points compared to Presbyterians' nine points to finish the third quarter trailing 63-37. 

Fourth Quarter:  

• Upstate started the fourth quarter with four points to continue to try to battle back.  

• Presbyterian responded with an additional five points.  

• The Spartans posted another four points while the Blue Hose posted another five to make the game 73-45 with under five minutes left in the game.  

• Both teams hit a pair of made free throws forcing the Spartans to continue to trail by 30.  

• Upstate and Presbyterian finished off the game adding another four points to their totals to finish the game 82-53.  

Notable 

• Talia Roldan tied her season-high for points (13) which she originally set against High Point. 

• Roldan also set a new season-high with two blocks. 

• AC Markham earned back-to-back games scoring in double-figures.  

• Upstate tied its season-high for blocked shots for the fourth time (Western Carolina, Queens, Charleston Southern). 

Up Next for the Spartans 

Upstate will host the Bulldogs of UNC Asheville on Saturday afternoon and remain at home to host the Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb on Wednesday night.  

 
Connect with the Spartans 
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics 
Twitter: @UpstateWBB 
Instagram: @upstatespartans 
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans 

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