CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball program fell late in the fourth quarter to Queens University, shifting its overall record to 1-4 with the 61-51 finish in Charlotte on Friday afternoon.  

Upstate came out strong in the first quarter against Queens University, starting its scoring with a seven-point run. The Royals were able to battle back and took the lead halfway through the first quarter, but the Spartans kept the game close. Upstate closed the first quarter trailing by two points (14-12). Upstate took advantage of its free throws going 100% from the line to help keep Queens from running away with the game. Jeni Levine led Upstate's offense through the first quarter as she went 2-3 from the field and 1-1 for three-pointers.   

Both teams continued to have scoring spurts with Queens starting the second quarter scoring seven unanswered points before Upstate then scored five unanswered points. The Spartans were able to hold the Royals' offense scoreless for over four minutes in the second quarter while chipping away at their lead. In the final two minutes, the Spartans dominated both offensively and defensively, scoring seven points and allowing no points to the Royals to make the game 30-26 going into halftime. Trinity Johnson found some momentum in the second quarter as she scored four points, made one rebound, made one assist and had three steals. Upstate continued to try to take advantage from the charity stripe, scoring 5-8 of its free throws in the second quarter.  

Only trailing by four points, the Spartans came out of the break ready to continue to compete. The first three minutes of the third quarter saw four points for Upstate and five points for Queens before both teams hit a small scoring drought. Going into the final two minutes of the quarter, Upstate trailed by five points but cut the Royals' lead down to just one point with five made free throws. Isabell West went 4-6 for free throws in the third quarter while Trinity Johnson went 2-2. AC Markham led Upstate's offense through the third quarter with five points and West was just behind her with four. Markham, West, and Reeves all collected three rebounds respectively contributing to Upstate's 11 rebounds in the third quarter.  

With 10 minutes remaining and only two points standing in the way of the Spartans taking the lead, the Royals quickly found the basket to make the game 43-39. Upstate was quick to respond with four points to tie up the game with plenty of time left. The Spartans were able to tie the game three times (43-43; 45-45; 47-47) but the Royals were able to regain the lead each time. Upstate sat 3-51 up until the last two minutes of the game when Queens went on an eight-point run, taking advantage of four shots from the charity stripe, to finish the game 61-51. Rebekah Gordon contributed eight of the 12 points the Spartans scored in the final quarter while Johnson was credited for another three assists. 

  
Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 51; Queens 61 
Records: USC Upstate (1-4; 0-0 Big South); Queens (2-2; 0-0 ASUN) 

Location: Curry Arena | Charlotte, N.C.   

How It Happened: 

First Quarter: Upstate 12; Queens 14 

• Despite Queens getting on the board first, Upstate was able to go on a seven-point scoring run to take an early five-point lead. 

• Queens went on a run of their own, scoring seven points as well and holding Upstate scoreless with five minutes left in the quarter.  

• In the final five minutes, the Spartans were outscored 6-5, forcing Upstate to trail by two after the first quarter.  

Second Quarter: Upstate 26; Queens 30 

• The Royals started the second quarter with another seven-point scoring run to make the game 21-12 with 8:44 left until halftime.  

• Upstate went on a five-point scoring run until both teams went scoreless with just over four minutes left in the quarter. 

• Queens broke the scoring drought for the two teams, but Upstate was quick to make two free throws to post another two points as well.  

• Following Upstate's made free throws, Queens pushed its lead to 11.  

• In the final two minutes of the half, Upstate shutout the Royals and cut their lead to four points after posted seven unanswered points. 

Third Quarter: Upstate 39; Queens 40 

• In the first three minutes out of halftime, Upstate posted four points compared to Queens' five to make the game 35-30 until 6:30 remained in the third quarter.  

• The next four and a half minutes the Spartans and the Royals scored four points respectively making the game 39-34 with two minutes left in the quarter. 

• Upstate outscored the Royals 5-1 to go into the last 10 minutes trailing by one.  

Fourth Quarter: Upstate 51; Queens 61 

• Upstate was able to tie the game 47-47 within the first minute, 30 of the final quarter. 

• Both teams continued to exchange points, sitting 47-47 through to the media timeout.  

• Following the media timeout, Queens was able to outscore Upstate 6-4 to make the game 53-51 with two minutes remaining.  

• The final two minutes Queens was able to make two baskets and take advantage of four free throws to finish the game 61-51 in favor of the hosting Royals. 

Notable 

• This was Upstate's second time playing Queens since 1995 and only their second loss in the overall series.  

• Upstate had a season high for free throws made (14), free throws attempted (25), and rebounds (38) against Queens.  

• Rebekah Gordon had her second game of the season scoring in double figures (12), while Trinity Johnson and AC Markham had their first.  

• Isabell West had a career-high eight rebounds while Rebekah Gordon had a season-high eight rebounds.  

Up Next for the Spartans 

The Spartans return home to the G.B. Hodge Center to host South Carolina State Monday, Nov. 20th at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for all USC Upstate men's and women's basketball games are on sale now with tickets beginning at just $8! To order log into upstatespartans.com/tickets.   

 
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