SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball program is back to winning ways after defeating the last remaining undefeated team in the Big South. Upstate's 65-60 win over Radford on Saturday afternoon advances them to a 9-9 overall record, and a 4-1 conference record going into Wednesday's road game against High Point.  

The Spartans came out hungry from the tip off and quickly established a lead and forced the Highlanders to play catch up from early on. At one point the Spartans established a nine-point lead to put pressure on Radford's offense to catch up. West led the Spartans' offense with six points after going 3-3 from the field to help Upstate get eight points in the paint in the first quarter. Despite the Highlanders firing more shots, Upstate's success came from its accuracy as they held a 58.3% field goal percentage and a 60.0% three-point percentage. Upstate capitalized on turnovers, scoring eight points off the Highlanders' mistakes and five points on the fast break. The Spartans also proved to be dangerous on defense as they made five steals in the first quarter with Trinity Johnson leading the team with two.  

Upstate continued to dominate in the second quarter, not only outscoring Radford but also holding the Highlanders to only 11 points. Both Upstate and Radford went 41.7% from the field (5-12) but it was the Spartans' ability to make the most of given opportunities that helped them maintain their lead going into the halftime break. Dakota Reeves and Gracie Barnes made all the difference in the second quarter as both shooters went 2-2 from the free throw line to keep Upstate on top. West continued to lead the Spartans' offense as she posted eight points in the second quarter, bringing her to 14 total points by halftime as well as three rebounds and one steal. At the break, Upstate sported a 50.0% field goal percentage as well as a 43.9% three-point percentage and a 100% free throw percentage as well as 12 rebounds and seven steals.  

Coming out of the break, Upstate once again held Radford to only 11 points while also posting adding another 17 points to their total. West had a quieter third quarter with only four points scored, but also recorded four rebounds, three of which were offensive, and one assist. Reeves led the Spartans' scoring in the third quarter with five points, while Trinity Johnson also contributed four. Just as they had in the first half, Upstate continued to display immense accuracy, going 5-12 from the field (41.7%) and 6-7 (85.7%) from the free throw line while Radford went 4-19 from the field (21.2%) and 2-2 (100%) from the free throw line.  

In the final quarter, Upstate saw its third quarter of the game scoring 17 points to help combat Radford's 23 points. Isabell West, Jeni Levine, and Zora Fray-Chinn all scored four points apiece to help Upstate reach its 65-point total. West brought her rebounds to 10 after she collected another three board in the final quarter. Rebekah Gordon, AC Markham, and Dakota Reeves all collected two rebounds each as well. Despite the Spartans being outscored in the fourth quarter, they maintained their consistency, going 41.7% from the field (5-12) and 75.0% from the free throw line (6-8). Upstate was able to reach a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and shut down an eight-point scoring run from the Highlanders to walk away with the 65-60 win.  

 
Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 65; Radford 60 
Records: USC Upstate (9-9; 4-1 Big South) vs. Radford (8-11; 4-1 Big South)  
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.       

How It Happened: 

First Quarter: Upstate 17; Radford 15 

• The Spartans started strong, outscoring the Highlanders 11-2, establishing a nine-point lead going into the first media time out.  

• Following the media timeout, Radford was able to stack 11 points compared to Upstate's two to tie the game with under two minutes left in the quarter (13-13). 

• In the final 90 seconds, Upstate outscored Radford 4-2 to take a two point lead into the second quarter.  

Second Quarter: Upstate 31; Radford 26 

• Upstate came out ready for a fight to start the second quarter posting six points compared to Radford's four points (23-19). 

• Both teams went on a near five-minute scoring drought as the score sat 23-19. 

• Radford broke the drought with just over two minutes until the halftime break but Upstate was quick to respond and posted eight points compared to the Highlanders seven to retain the lead at the end of the second quarter (31-26). 

Third Quarter: Upstate 48; Radford 37 

• Following halftime, Radford got the first points on the board but then went scoreless for roughly five minutes while Upstate scored nine unanswered points (40-28). 

• The next three minutes saw six points for the hosting Spartans and four points for the visiting Highlanders (46-32).  

• In the final two minutes of the third quarter, Radford was able to outscore Upstate 5-2 for the Spartans to retain an 11-point lead going into the final 10 minutes (48-37).  

Fourth Quarter: Upstate 65; Radford 60 

• Upstate continued to push on offense, outscoring Radford 7-6 in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter (55-43).  

• Both teams went scoreless for the next minute until Radford was able to find the basket.  

• The Highlanders were able to outscore the Spartans 10-4 to bring the game within six points going into the final two minutes.  

• In the final two minutes, Radford outscored Upstate 7-6 but it was not enough as Upstate emerged victorious with a 65-60 win. 

Notable 

• Isabell West had her 12th game of the season scoring in double figures with the 22 points she scored today and this is the seventh straight game West has scored in double-figures.  

• West also recorded the team's first double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds which hasn't happened since January of 2023. 

• Dakota Reeves had her fifth game of the season scoring in double figures with 13 points.  

• West has scored in double figures in eight of Upstate's last nine contests while Reeves has had back-to-back games scoring in double figures.  

Up Next for the Spartans  
Upstate will take to the road to go against the Panthers of High Point on Wednesday night before finishing the week close to home against Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs on Saturday afternoon.  

   
Support the Spartans  
USC Upstate returns to the G.B. Hodge Center on Wednesday, January 31 to host Presbyterian at 7:00 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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