SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upstate women's basketball fell to Radford 59-39 on the road on Saturday afternoon to shift its conference record to 5-4. AC Markham led the charge with eight points while Rebekah Gordon recorded seven and Trinity Johnson six.  

Radford posted four on the board to start the game after almost two scoreless minutes. Johnson got things started for Upstate with a layup in the fourth minute of play. Markham and Geraci also contributed two points and three rebounds each in the first quarter as the Spartans finished the first 10 minutes trailing 8-6.  

During the second quarter, Upstate found some momentum. Prior to the media timeout, the Spartans outscored the Highlanders 5-4. This trend continued through the rest of the quarter as Upstate outscored Radford 11-8 in the second quarter to trail by one point going into halftime. Upstate took more shots than Radford (14-13) as well as made more three-pointers (2-0) and free throws (1-0).  

Coming out of the break, Radford posted four points to make the game; Upstate stopped the Highlanders before they could go on a run, with a floater on the fast break from Geraci. Before the media timeout, Radford posted another eight points while Upstate posted two. With five minutes left in the quarter, the game was 30-21 in favor of the home team just before Upstate made four free throws courtesy of Markham and Johnson. The third quarter finished with another five Radford points to make the game 38-25. Markham continued to contribute points with four in the third quarter. Geraci led in rebounds with three.  

Gordon and Talia Roldan were able to make one free throw each with a Radford three-pointer between them. Back-to-back three-pointers for Radford made the game 47-27 to start what ended up being a nine-point run for the Highlanders. Both teams continued to exchange buckets and Upstate claimed the final points of the game with a three-pointer and a free throw from Roldan and a second chance layup from Markham. In the final quarter, Roldan and Gordon led with five points each. Upstate went 5-12 for field goals in the final 10 minutes and went 50.0% from the free throw line. 

 
Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 39: Radford 59 
Records: USC Upstate (8-12, 5-4 Big South) vs. Radford (9-12, 5-5 Big South)   

Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.     

How It Happened:   

First Quarter:   

• Radford got on the board first, posting back-to-back layups and making Upstate trail early. 

• Johnson got Upstate on the board with a layup. 

• The Highlanders posted another four points to keep the lead over Upstate.  

• A layup from Geraci kept the Highlanders from running away with the game. 

• Both teams would finish the first quarter with an additional two points to make the game 10-6 in favor of the hosting Highlanders.  

Second Quarter: 

• Upstate started the second quarter with a layup from Johnson to continue to chip away at Radford's lead.  

• The teams exchanged points back and forth through the quarter. A made free throw from Walker put the game within three points just before the media timeout.  

• Radford finished the quarter with four more points while Upstate was able to tally another six points with three-pointers coming from Fray-Chinn and C. Levine.  

• Despite trailing most of the first half by four, Upstate went into the halftime break trailing by one point (18-17).  

Third Quarter: 

• The second half started with four points from Radford to make the game 22-17.  

• Geraci hit a jumper to keep Upstate in the game and tally her third and fourth points of the game.  

• Radford responded with another five points to which Upstate came back with another jumper, this time from AC Markham.  

• Back-to-back three-pointers from the Highlanders made the game 33-21 with just over five minutes left in the quarter.  

• Four made free throws from Johnson (2) and Markham (2) cut Radford's lead back to single digits (8).  

• The Highlanders capped the quarter with five more points forcing Upstate to trail 38-25 with 10 minutes remaining.  

Fourth Quarter:  

• Upstate started the scoring in the final quarter with a made free throws from Gordon (1) and Roldan (1) with a Radford three-pointer between the two Upstate points.  

• The Highlanders went on a nine-point run to make the game 50-27 with just under seven minutes remaining.  

• The next three minutes brought another four points for Upstate as well as another six points for Radford to make the game 56-31 with just over three minutes left in the game.  

• Upstate would score another six points while Radford would score another three to finish the game 59-39 in favor of the hosting Highlanders.  
     

Notable 

• The last time Upstate lost to Radford on the road was Feb. 25, 2020.  

• This is the first time since Dec. 3, 2022 (vs. ODU) that no Spartan scored in double-figures.  

• The 20-points Upstate posted in the third quarter is the most points the Spartans have scored in the third quarter this season.  

Up Next for the Spartans 

Continuing with the second half of the conference slate, Upstate will celebrate National Women and Girls in Sports Day during the game against Campbell on February 1st at 7:00 p.m. 

CHEER ON THE SPARTANS AT THE HODGE!  
USC Upstate is offering a variety of ways for fans to watch Upstate Basketball this season! Tickets can be purchased through ticketreturn.com and options include courtside seats, season packages, two new mini-plan offerings, group packages, and individual game tickets. Click here to order your tickets.  

 
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