ROCK HILL, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball program became the only women's basketball team in the Big South Conference to start the conference slate with back-to-back wins after securing a 52-51 comeback victory on the road against Winthrop. 

Upstate had a slow start in their first Big South road game of the season and found itself trailing by six points after the first quarter against Winthrop. The Spartans posted 10 points in the first quarter with seven of those points coming from Trinity Johnson. Johnson went 4-4 from the free throw line to help Upstate hold on 83.3% free throw percentage at the end of first quarter.  

Despite a quiet first quarter on offense, the Spartans found another gear for the second quarter and outscored the Eagles 15-9 to tie the game up at halftime. Rebekah Gordon was the hero of the quarter as she posted a third of the Spartans' second quarter points on her own. Isabell West was just behind her with four points while Jeni Levine, Macy Wike, and Johnson all contributed two apiece as well. Upstate not only outscored Winthrop in the second quarter but had more accuracy, going 46.2% from the field while Winthrop went 28.6%.  

Despite Upstate taking the lead to start the third quarter, Winthrop scored 18 points in the third quarter to force the Spartans to trail by six points going into the final 10 minutes. Johnson once again led Upstate on offense, getting support in the scoring department from Wike, J. Levine, and West as well. The Spartans did their best to stay in the game, going 50.0% from distance and 100% from the free throw line.  

With their second Big South win of the season on the line, the Spartans dug deep in the final quarter and forced the game to come down to the final seconds. J. Levine led the final push with five points with West just behind her with four points. West had three boards in the final quarter, and her final rebound was the game changer for the Spartans. After rebounding a shot from distance, West made a layup to tie the game 50-50 with only 47 seconds left. One final made free throw from the Eagles left the Spartans trailing by just one point eight second remaining. A shooting foul called on the Eagles gave Dakota Reeves, who sat with a 100% free throw percentage, the ability to not just tie the game, but the chance to be a hero and win the game. With the Winthrop Coliseum filled with screaming Eagles' fans, Reeves knocked down two free throws to give Upstate the 52-51 win in Rock Hill.   

 
Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 52; Winthrop 51 
Records: USC Upstate (7-8; 2-0 Big South) vs. Winthrop (7-8; 1-1 Big South)  
Location: Winthrop Coliseum | Rock Hill, S.C.           

How It Happened: 

First Quarter: Upstate 10; Winthrop 16 

• The hosting Eagles started the game with a nine-point scoring run, holding Upstate scoreless through the first three minute of the game.  

• Trinity Johnson stacked five points to get Upstate's offense going in the first quarter but Winthrop responded with five points as well (14-5). 

• Despite Upstate outscoring Winthrop 5-2 in the final three minutes of the first quarter, the Spartans trailed by six going into the second quarter (16-10). 

Second Quarter: Upstate 25; Winthrop 25 

• Isabell West, Trinity Johnson, and Rebekah Gordon posted points in the first three minutes of the second quarter to bring the game within three points (21-18). 

• Both teams went on a four-minute scoreless streak until the Eagles scored a layup.  

• The final three minutes of the game saw only two points for the Eagles while the Spartans stacked seven unanswered points to tie the game just before halftime (25-25). 

Third Quarter: Upstate 37; Winthrop 43 

• Upstate started the third quarter taking the lead twice before the Eagles would reclaim the lead (31-30). 

• After two minutes of silence on offense from either team, Upstate posted two points while Winthrop posted five before another two scoreless minutes began (36-32).  

• In the final three minutes of the third quarter, Upstate found some points from distance and took advantage of a pair of made free throws as Winthrop took advantage of some free points as well to make the game 43-37 in favor of the Eagles.  

Fourth Quarter: Upstate 52; Winthrop 51 

• Both the Spartans and the Eagles started the final quarter with four points added to the board as the Eagles led 47-41 at the media timeout.  

• Following the media timeout, Upstate outscored Winthrop 5-3 to make the game 50-46 with two minutes remaining.  

• The Spartans tied the game 50-50 after Isabell West made a rebound off Jeni Levine's shot from distance and scored the tying layup. 

• With seconds to go Winthrop made one final free throw to make the game 51-50 and force the Spartans to make a play.  

• After getting fouled while trying to shoot, Dakota Reeves stepped up to the free throw line and made a pair of free throws to secure the 52-51 road win.  

Notable 

• Jeni Levine had her seventh game of the season scoring in double figures with the 13 she had today. Levine has scored in double digits in five of Upstate's last six contests.  

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

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

• Johnson tied her season high of eight free throws made for the second time this season.  

• Johnson also played a season-high 40 minutes today against Winthrop while Macy Wike played a career-high 19 minutes.  

• Upstate's most recent win over Winthrop was February 9, 2022.  

Up Next for the Spartans  
With no mid-week matchup scheduled for Wednesday, the Spartans next game is set for Saturday, Jan. 13th in the G.B. Hodge Center against Charleston Southern at 4:00 p.m. ET.   

   
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.     
   

Connect with the Spartans       
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics       
Twitter | @UpstateWBB @UpstateSpartans       
Instagram | @UpstateWBB @UpstateSpartans       
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans