CHARLOTTE, N.C. – USC Upstate women's basketball emerged triumphant in the first round of the Big South Basketball Tournament as it defeated the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern 65-48 to advance to the quarter finals on Thursday evening. Rebekah Gordon led the Spartans in scoring with 14 points while Trinity Johnson, Isabella Geraci, and Zora Fray-Chinn all recorded 13 points each. Gordon (9), Johnson (9), and Geraci (8) all came close to double-doubles as they racked up decent numbers in the rebounds column.
Upstate came out hungry in the first quarter and was quick to establish a lead. The game started with two free throws for the Spartans due to a technical foul on Charleston Southern. After the Bucs were able to get on the board, Upstate went on a seven-point scoring run that would establish the lead that Upstate would maintain through the remainder of the game. The first quarter saw four points for Isabella Geraci while Jeni Levine and Trinity Johnson had three points each. The Spartans showed accuracy in the small moments as they went 91.7% from the free throw line (11-12).
The Spartans continued to push on, reaching at one point a 16-point lead in the second quarter. Despite a late six-point run in the quarter, it was Upstate who would remain on top going into the halftime break with the score 35-24 in favor of the Spartans. Zora Fray-Chinn lead the Spartans in the second quarter with six points with Geraci (5) and Johnson (4) just behind her. As well as their points, Johnson and Geraci also accumulated two rebounds each. Upstate went 8-14 from the field (57.1%) in the second quarter, not only outscoring the Bucs (8-5) but also outshooting them (14-11).
Coming out of the halftime break, Upstate was set in its rhythm as it went on a six-point run before the media break and an eight-point run to finish the quarter with an 18-point lead going into the final 10 minutes of the game. Of the 21 points Upstate scored in the third quarter, eight of them came from Gordon while six points came from Johnson. Geraci contributed to the rebounds category, leading the team in the third quarter with three rebounds. The Spartans as a team showed accuracy in the third quarter, going 63.6% from the field (7-11) and 87.5% from the free throw line (7-8).
The Bucs were able to outscore the Spartans in the fourth and final quarter by one point, but Upstate was still able to reach a game-high lead of 22 points with just under three and a half minutes remaining in the game. Fray-Chinn led in scoring the final quarter with three points meanwhile Gordon, AC Markham, and J. Levine had two points each. Gordon led the team in rebounds with five. Though they went scoreless in the fourth quarter, Geraci (3) and Johnson (2) continued to be essential to the Spartans.
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 65; Charleston Southern 48
Records: #7 USC Upstate (11-19, 7-11 Big South) vs. #10 Charleston Southern (5-25, 3-15 Big South)
Bojangles Coliseum | Charlotte, N.C.
How It Happened:
First Quarter:
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Upstate started the game with two free throws due to a technical foul on Charleston Southern.
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Charleston Southern won the tip and got on the board with a layup.
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After two minutes of scoreless play, CSU drew a foul to send Gordon to the line where she scored both free throws to spark a seven-point scoring run while keeping CSU scoreless for four and half minutes.
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CSU was able to get a few points on the board just before the media timeout.
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The final four minutes of the first quarter Upstate outscored CSU 7-6 to finish the quarter 16-10.
Second Quarter:
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The second quarter started with a three from Geraci to push Upstate to 19 points.
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Upstate scored another two points while CSU also was able to find the basket to make the game 21-12 before the first media timeout.
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The next five minutes scoring was scarce but Upstate was able to get to the basket posting 11-points compared to Charleston Southern's four (32-16).
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Charleston Southern went on a six-point scoring run late in the second quarter to make the game 32-22 with under a minute left in the half.
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A three from Fray-Chinn and a Buccaneer driving layup capped the first half 35-24 in favor of the Spartans.
Third Quarter:
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The first two minutes of the third quarter saw four points for Upstate along with two points for Charleston Southern (39-26).
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For the three minutes before the official media timeout, CSU went on an eight-point scoring run just before Upstate went on a six-point scoring run to make the game 48-31 with five minutes left in the third quarter.
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Following the media timeout, Charleston Southern went on a seven-point run which was stopped by two pairs of made free throws from Gordon and Johnson (52-38).
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The final minutes of the third quarter saw four more points for Upstate to make the game 56-38 going into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
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CSU scored first in the fourth quarter with a three, but Upstate responded with four points to push its total to 60 points.
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Upstate tallied another three points while CSU scored a pair of made free throws before the media timeout (63-43).
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The remainder of the game saw two more points for the Spartans as well as another six points for the Bucs, but it was Upstate that would emerge victorious with a 65-48 win over Charleston Southern.
Notable
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Gordon has scored in double-figures in eight of Upstate's last nine games (Longwood, Winthrop, Charleston Southern, UNC Asheville, Campbell, High Point, Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb, Charleston Southern- First Round).
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Isabella Geraci had her 14th game scoring in double-figures with the 13 she scored today.
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Trinity Johnson had her 7th game scoring in double-figures with the 13 she scored today.
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Zora Fray-Chinn had her sixth game scoring in double-figures with the 13 she scored today.
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Last time Upstate played Charleston Southern (2/8) Fray-Chinn and Gordon also scored in double-figures.
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This is the first time since joining the Big South Conference in 2018, that Upstate has beaten a team three times in a single season.
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Last time Upstate made it to the quarter finals was in 2021 after Upstate beat Charleston Southern 72-64 before falling 85-63 to High Point.
Up Next for the Spartans
Upstate advances to the quarter finals of the Big South Basketball Tournament and is set to play the #2 seed High Point University on Thursday, March 2nd at 6:00 p.m. in the Bojangles Coliseum.
For more information about the Big South Basketball Tournament, click here.
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