CHARLESTON, S.C. – USC Upstate women's basketball collected its sixth Big South win of the season, as the Spartans downed the Bucs of Charleston Southern 71-67 on the road on Wednesday night. AC Markham had her best game of the season, scoring a season-high 17 points while Rebekah Gordon had her third consecutive game scoring in double-figures (15) and Zora Fray-Chinn and Cali Levine scored 10 apiece.   

The Spartans found themselves on their heels in the first quarter as the game started with a nine-point run for the Bucs. Upstate was able to battle back before the quarter was over and bring the game within six points (15-9). AC Markham led the Spartans' offense with four points in the first quarter while Rebekah Gordon had three. Zora Fray-Chinn led in rebounds with three while Talia Roldan had two.  

Four minutes into the second quarter, Upstate was able to tie the game at 17 points. Upstate held a brief lead before the game was tied again at 26 points with 3:35 left in the half. With under two minutes left in the half, Upstate secured the lead and finished the half leading 33-29. Upstate tied it season-high for scoring in the second quarter with 24 points as it went 58.3% for field goals, 50.0% for three-pointers, and 66.7% for free throws in the second quarter. Markham scored nine points in the second quarter, scoring a combined 13 points in the first half. Markham also led the team in rebounds with three while Cali Levine contributed five points to the Spartans lead.  

Coming out of the break, Upstate maintained its lead to the media timeout (45-39). Upstate was able to reach a 10-point lead over Charleston Southern to finish the quarter 54-44. Gordon led the third quarter, scoring 11 points and making one rebound. C. Levine and Fray-Chinn scored another three points each and Trinity Johnson made another three rebounds. The Spartans went 66.7% for field goals while making 80.0% of their free throws in the second quarter. 

During the final quarter, Upstate started with a 12-point lead, sitting 56-44 after Fray-Chinn made a layup in the paint. Despite leading for majority of the game, the Spartans found themselves tied 63-63 with just over two minutes left. Upstate reclaimed the lead for the final time with 37 seconds left on the clock (66-65). The Spartans were able to hold off the Bucs for the remainder of the game and finish the night with a 71-67 win in Charleston. Johnson found her stride at the end of the game, scoring five points and helping the Spartans reclaim the lead. Geraci also posted four points in the final quarter while Fray-Chinn, C. Levine, Markham, and J. Levine all also found the basket.  

 
Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 71; Charleston Southern 67 
Records: USC Upstate (9-14, 6-6 Big South) vs. Charleston Southern (4-20, 2-11 Big South)  

Buccaneer Fieldhouse | Charleston, S.C. 

How It Happened:   

First Quarter:   

• Charleston Southern went on a nine-point run to start the game. 

• Upstate found its first points in the form of a driving layup from Isabella Geraci. 

• CSU and Upstate scored another four points each to make the game 13-6 with a minute ten left in the first quarter.  

• In the final minute of the first quarter CSU scored two more points while Upstate posted another three to make the game 15-9 in favor of the home team.  

Second Quarter: 

• The second quarter started with two points for each team, keeping the game close.  

• Upstate went on a six-point run to tie the game 17-17 with 6:17 left in the second quarter. 

• With 5:11 left in the second quarter, Upstate took the lead for the first time in the game with the score at 20-19.   

• The next two minutes brought six points for the Spartans and seven points for the Bucs, making the game tied at 26 points.  

• Upstate finished the quarter strong, posting seven additional points compared to Charleston Southern's three points and sat with a 33-29 lead at halftime.  

Third Quarter: 

• CSU scored first in the second half but Upstate was quick to go on a six point run to take an eight-point lead. 

• The next three minutes, Upstate and Charleston Southern exchanged buckets with Upstate scoring four points while CSU scored eight points. Upstate maintained the lead 43-39 with five minutes left in the quarter. 

• The Spartans continued to try to hold a solid lead, scoring another five points compared to CSU's three points which left the score 48-44 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.  

• In the final three minutes of the quarter, Upstate added six more points to the board to go into the final quarter with a 10-point lead (54-44).  

Fourth Quarter:  

• Continuing their scoring run, the Spartans started the final quarter with a layup from Fray-Chinn. 

• The first two minutes of the fourth quarter brought four points for the Spartans and seven points for the Bucs, making the game 58-51 in favor of Upstate. 

• CSU brought the game within one (58-57) with just under six minutes of play remaining.  

• The Bucs reclaimed the lead after a six-point run to make the game 63-32 with 2:15 remaining.  

• Despite Cali Levine taking the lead back with a pair of made free-throws, the Bucs had the lead (65-64) just shy of the two minute mark.  

• Trinity Johnson came up big with a layup and-one to take back the lead for Upstate for the final time of the night (67-65). 

• Upstate finished the game with four final points in the form for free throws while CSU finished the game with a final jumper (71-67).  
     

Notable 

• AC Markham set a new season-high with 17 points surpassing her previous season-high of 11 set against Longwood (1/14/23). 

• Rebekah Gordon had her third consecutive game scoring in double-figures (Campbell 15, UNC Asheville 13) 

• This was Markham's sixth game scoring in double-figures, Gordon's ninth, Fray-Chinn's fourth, and C. Levine's second.  

• Upstate set a season-high for points tonight against CSU (71) surpassing its previous high of 69 set against Southern Wesleyan (11/7/22). 

• Upstate also tied its high of made free throws (20). 

• The win over CSU puts Upstate back in fourth place in the Big South rankings. 

Up Next for the Spartans 

Upstate will finish the week with back-to-back games against the Eagles of Winthrop with the first game being played Saturday, Feb. 11th in the G.B Hodge Center at 4:00 p.m. and the second being played Sunday, Feb. 12th at 2:00 p.m. in Rock Hill.    

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.  

Support Our Women's Basketball Team in the Play4Kay Free Throw Challenge 

Our team is proud to support the Kay Yow Cancer Fund by joining the 2023 Play4Kay National Free Throw Challenge! You can support our team by making a pledge for every free throw we make during the month of February or by making a one-time flat donation! Donate Here.  

 
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