SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball program continued its excellent start to conference play, as the Spartans advanced to 3-0 in the Big South with a 59-58 finish over Charleston Southern on Saturday night.  

Upstate entered the contest with a target on its back as it sat one of two unbeaten women's basketball teams in the conference. That said, the Spartans came out with a fire in their bellies, posting a near season-high 23 points in the first quarter to establish an early lead over Charleston Southern. Trinity Johnson led the Spartans through the first quarter with seven points after going 100% from both the free throw line and from distance. Rebekah Gordon assisted Johnson in her offensive efforts with a spotless percentage from the field and from the free throw line. Johnson put in work on defense as well, collecting three steals. The Spartans first quarter stats showed immense accuracy as Upstate went 60.0% from the field, 100% from the three-point arc, and 90.0% from the charity stripe.  

In the second quarter, the Bucs began to chip at the Spartans' lead but Upstate held strong and was able to keep its lead through the second quarter and into the halftime break. Charleston Southern was able to rattle off more shots in the second quarter but again it was Upstate who came out on top in the accuracy department. Gordon continued to be dangerous on offense, helping the Spartans keep the lead with nine points. In addition to her nine points, Gordon collected four rebounds and two steals to keep the in Bucs in the hole. Both teams scored five points off turnovers, and six points in the paint, but Upstate was able to take advantage of its free chances and went 9-9 from the line.  

Coming out of the halftime break, the Bucs tried to catch the Spartans on their heels but were unsuccessful in doing so. Upstate retained its lead despite being outscored by five points in the third quarter. Zora Fray-Chinn was an essential part of Upstate being able to keep its lead as she led the team on offense with five points. Gordon remained a dangerous piece of Upstate's arsenal as she contributed three points in the fourth quarter and collected three rebounds.  

With 10 minutes standing between Upstate and their third conference win of the season, the Spartans dug deep to pull out a one-point victory. Charleston Southern was able to outscore Upstate 18-9 in the final quarter but also allowed more steals. Isabell West led the charge in the final quarter with four points while Johnson (3) and AC Markham (2) contributed points as well. The Bucs brought the game within one point, but the Spartans' offense prevailed at the final whistle.  

 
Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 59; Charleston Southern 58 
Records: USC Upstate (8-8; 3-0 Big South) vs. Charleston Southern (5-12; 2-2 Big South)  
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.        

How It Happened: 

First Quarter: Upstate 23; Charleston Southern 11 

• The Spartans established an early lead as they posted nine unanswered points and held the Bucs scoreless until there was 5:41 left in the first quarter.  

• After Charleston Southern was able to collect its first points, Upstate continued to outscore the Bucs 6-5 with two and a half minutes to go in the quarter (15-5). 

• The final few minutes saw the Spartans put down three sets of made free throws to continue to extend their lead (23-11).  

Second Quarter: Upstate 41; Charleston Southern 26 

• The second quarter started with three points for each team, followed by almost two minutes of scoreless play.  

• Charleston Southern broke the dry streak to cut Upstate's lead to single digits, just before the Spartans tacked on another five points.  

• Upstate made another pair of free throws to help offset CSU's shot from distance before another two-minute dry spell would occur.  

• This time, the Spartans kicked in the scoring with another three made free throws followed by a pair of shots from the charity stripe from the Bucs (37-20). 

• Upstate and Charleston Southern finished the final minutes of the half with four minutes for the Spartans and six for the Bucs (41-26). 

Third Quarter: Upstate 50; Charleston Southern 40 

• The first four minutes coming out of halftime, Charleston Southern outscored Upstate 8-6 to make the game 47-34. 

• Charleston Southern continued to try to chip away at Upstate's lead, posting only six additional points in the third quarter, but also holding Upstate to only nine points.  

Fourth Quarter: Upstate 59; Charleston Southern 58 

• The Spartans found themselves on defense to start the final quarter as the Bucs scored six points compared to Upstate's two in the first 90 seconds.  

• Both teams hit a dry spell for the next two minutes, that would be broken by the hosting Spartans (54-46). 

• The next four minutes saw five points for Upstate against the 10 points Charleston Southern posted to bring the game within one point (57-56). 

• Upstate continued to battle, scoring one final three to put the game out of reach as Charleston Southern's final bucket was not enough to send the game into over time.  

Notable 

• Rebekah Gordon led the team on offense today with 16 points for her seventh game of the season scoring in double figures.  

• Gordon also tied her season high for rebounds (8) originally set against Queens (11/17/23) in addition to having a career high four steals.  

• Isabell West had her 10th game of the season scoring in double figures with the 10 points she scored today and this is the fifth straight game West has scored in double-figures.  

• Trinity Johnson had her seventh game of the season scoring 10+ points.  

• Upstate hasn't lost to Charleston Southern since Jan. 22, 2021 (55-53).  

Up Next for the Spartans  
The Spartans will take the long trip to Longwood on Wednesday to take on the Lancers at 7:00 p.m. and will finish the week hosting the Radford Highlanders at 4:00 p.m.  

   
Support the Spartans  
USC Upstate returns to the G.B. Hodge Center on Saturday, January 20 to host Radford at 4:00 p.m. ET. 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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