SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball program started Big South Conference play with a win for the third straight year after the Spartans beat I-26 Rival UNC Asheville 71-44 at home on Wednesday evening.  

As the game began, both Upstate and UNC Asheville seemed evenly matched with both teams getting on the board and exchanging points from the very beginning. A five-minute scoring drought for the Bulldogs combined with seven unanswered points from the Spartans, gave Upstate a four-point lead with minutes to go in the first quarter. With the final points of the quarter coming from Isabell West, Dakota Reeves, and AC Markham As a unit the Spartans dominated the Bulldogs on offense, going 46.2% from the field compared to UNC Asheville's 27.8% from the field. West led the Spartans through the first quarter with four points while Trinity Johnson, Rebekah Gordon, AC Markham, and Dakota Reeves posted three respectively. West also led the team with four boards while Markham, J. Levine, Reeves, and Johnson had two rebounds each.  

The second quarter was much quieter than the first on offense, however the Spartans not only outscored the Bulldogs again but also retained a five-point lead going into the halftime break. While UNC Asheville struggled in the second quarter from both distance and the free throw line, Upstate was able to go 40% from the three-point arc as well as go 75% from the free throw line. Zora Fray-Chinn assisted Dakota Reeves in leading the Spartans' scoring in the second quarter. At halftime, both Reeves and West sat with six points respectively while five other Spartans also had points on the board. 

Coming out of the break, Upstate was able to contain UNC Asheville's offense, allowing only three shots from the field and forcing the Bulldogs to find points from the charity stripe. Regardless of five made free throws from UNC Asheville, Upstate had another successful quarter on offense, scoring 19 points with nine of those points coming from Trinity Johnson alone. In addition to leading the Spartans in scoring, Johnson also collected four of the nine rebounds Upstate had in the third quarter. Upstate found success both in the paint (10 points) and through its players off the bench (13 points) to be able to go into the final quarter with a commanding 13-point lead.  

The final quarter saw 23 points for Upstate after the Spartans not only went on a 15-point scoring run, but also held the Bulldogs scoreless for over five minutes and allowed them to score only nine points. Of Asheville's nine points scored, three of them came from the charity stripe while Upstate was able to capitalize on 12 of the 13 free throw attempts they were awarded. In the final quarter, the Spartans forced five turnovers from the Bulldogs which resulted in 12 points for Upstate. Jeni Levine absolutely dominated the court in the final quarter as she scored 12 points, had two rebounds, and one assist. With the 71-44 mid-week victory, Upstate is now 4-1 at home, 6-8 overall and starts conference play with a win. 

 
Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 71; UNC Asheville 44 
Records: USC Upstate (6-8; 1-0 Big South) vs. UNC Asheville (6-8; 0-1 Big South)  
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.         

How It Happened: 

First Quarter: Upstate 18; UNCA 14 

• The first few minutes of play saw the Spartans and the Bulldogs exchanging points with UNC Asheville leading by three points (6-3). 

• Upstate went on a seven-point run and kept UNC Asheville scoreless for over five minutes to take a four-point lead with just over two minutes left in the first quarter (10-6). 

• Both Upstate and UC Asheville made two shots from distance and one in the paint to make the game 18-14 in favor of the Spartans after the first 10 minutes.  

Second Quarter: Upstate 29; UNCA 24 

• The teams continued to trade points with Upstate outscoring UNC Asheville by two points in the first six minutes of the second quarter (26-20). 

• Both the Spartans and the Bulldogs went through a near three-minute scoring drought until Isabell West made a pair of free throws. 

• West's made free throws and one free throw from Trinity Johnson brought the Spartans to 29 points, keeping a five-point lead over the Bulldogs (24). 

Third Quarter: Upstate 48; UNCA 35 

• Visiting UNC Asheville started the third quarter with three points but Upstate was quick to tack on six points in the first three minutes of the quarter (35-27).  

• The Bulldogs were able to outscore the Spartans 4-2 in the minutes leading up to the media timeout (37-31).  

• Upstate continued to retain its lead through the end of the third quarter outscoring UNC Asheville 11-4, including posting six unanswered points in the final two minutes of the quarter.  

Fourth Quarter: Upstate 71; UNCA 44 

• UNC Asheville started the fourth quarter yet again with three points before they were held scoreless for the next five minutes.  

• While holding off the Bulldogs' offense, the Spartans went on a 15-point scoring run to establish a 25-point lead over UNC Asheville (63-38). 

• In the final minutes of the game, Upstate kept its foot on the gas and outscored UNC Asheville 8-6 to finish with a 71-44 win. 

Notable 

• Jeni Levine not only posted a career-high 18 points but also had a career-high eight made free throws.  

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

• West also set a career-high for rebounds with the nine she had tonight. 

• This is the third straight season Upstate had beaten UNC Asheville at home.  

• Upstate had a season-high 25 free throws made, 31 free throws attempted, and 43 rebounds as well as tied its season-high for blocked shots for the third time this season (4).  

• This was Upstate's fourth 70+ point win of the season. 

Up Next for the Spartans  
The Spartans will finish the first week of Big South Conference play in Rock Hill against Winthrop Saturday, Jan. 6 at 2:00 p.m. 

   
Support the Spartans  
USC Upstate returns to the G.B. Hodge Center on Saturday, January 13 to host Charleston Southern 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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