SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Back at the G.B. Hodge Center for the first time during the 2024-25 season, USC Upstate women's basketball couldn't carry the momentum of a tightly contested first half into the second half as it dropped an 80-52 decision Saturday afternoon to Western Carolina at the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
Reaching double-figures for the third straight contest—the most consecutive double-figure scoring games for an Upstate freshman since 2021-22—redshirt freshman guard Cassie Gallagher paced the Spartans with a team-best 11 points, one of three players in double-figures for Upstate. Senior forward Rebekah Gordon and redshirt sophomore guard Aubrie Kierscht finished with 10 markers apiece with Gordon corralling a career-high 14 rebounds to complement her scoring total, securing her second career double-double.
 
Game Information
Score: Western Carolina 80; USC Upstate 52
Records: USC Upstate (1-3; 0-0 Big South); Western Carolina (4-1; 0-0 SoCon)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Quarter

• Earning a second-chance opportunity on its first possession, Western Carolina began the afternoon's scoring before Cassie Gallagher answered with a three-pointer on the other end. The Catamounts regained the advantage with consecutive field goals, holding the lead for the next few minutes before Rebekah Gordon and Zora Fray-Chinn hit a hook shot and three to put the Spartans back out front ahead of the first media.
• After a near two-minute scoring drought out of the stoppage, the Catamounts regained the advantage with 2:19 to play, a three-point lead, their largest of the period. Aubrie Kierscht tied the game as she converted an and-one attempt with a pull-up jumper from Jeni Levine tying the game at the quarter break.

 
Second Quarter

• Retaking the lead, Western Carolina opened the new quarter with a three, building back its largest advantage of the first half. Upstate countered with consecutive field goals from Ava Miller and Gordon to jump back out front. The Catamounts answered with an 8-0 run to push the Spartans' deficit to seven into the media stoppage.
• Upstate began chipping away at the disadvantage out of the timeout as Gracie Barnes and AC Markham knocked down buckets, closing the lead to three. A five-point flurry spanning the one-minute mark further whittled the lead before Gordon closed the half with an and-one conversion, pulling the Spartans within one at the break.

 
Third Quarter

• Out of the halftime locker room, Upstate and Western Carolina traded field goals over the first four minutes of the new stanza as the Spartans remained within two with 6:05 to play in the quarter. The Catamounts, however, closed the period with 13 straight points, holding Upstate without a field goal for the final six minutes of the quarter.

 
Fourth Quarter

• Adding the opening bucket of the fourth frame, Western Carolina extended its scoring stretch to 15-0 before Levine snapped the run from the free throw line. The Catamounts help the Spartans without a field goal for seven-and-a-half minutes before Kierscht drained threes on consecutive possessions for the Spartans.
• Cementing their lead, the Catamounts fashioned a 17-0 scoring run out of the final media timeout of the afternoon, building the final margin. Closing the game, Ava Miller notched the final five points of the day for Upstate.

 
Notable

• Dropping 10 points and picking up a career-high 14 rebounds, Rebekah Gordon secured her second career double-double Saturday against Western Carolina. It marks her first since an 11-point, 10-rebound performance versus Longwood on March 7, 2024.
• Leading the Spartans with 11 points Saturday, Cassie Gallagher reached double-figures for the third straight contest as she becomes the first Spartan freshman since Rachael Rose in 2021-22 to score in double-figures in three straight contests.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Off the team's first home game of the new campaign, USC Upstate heads back out on the road, staying in the Upstate with a quick trip to Furman. The Spartans and Paladins match up Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.
 
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