LEXINGTON, Ky. – Opening its 18^th season at the NCAA Division I lever much like it did its first with a trip to the Bluegrass State, USC Upstate women's basketball began its latest campaign with its first game against a ranked opponent since December of the 2022-23 campaign, taking on No. 22 Monday at Historic Memorial Coliseum. In the first regular season basketball game played inside a renovated Memorial Coliseum, USC Upstate fought hard on the road, ultimately, succumbing to the Wildcats 98-43.
 
As the new season began, the Spartans saw five players make their USC Upstate debuts versus Kentucky with each of the five debutants scoring. Each of the 13 available Spartans made their season debuts with 11 of the 13 scoring for Upstate. Two of the team's veterans, senior forwards Rebekah Gordon and AC Markham led the way with eight points apiece, finishing the night shooting 4-of-7 and 3-of-5 from the field, respectively.
 
Game Information
Score: No. 22 Kentucky 98; USC Upstate 43
Records: USC Upstate (0-1; 0-0 Big South); Kentucky (1-0; 0-0 SEC)
Location: Memorial Coliseum | Lexington, Ky.
 
How It Happened
First Quarter

• Answering the game's first basket by Kentucky's Clara Strack, Gracie Barnes drove the baseline and knocked down a pull-up jumper from outside the lane to get Upstate on the board. The Wildcats responded to the bucket with nine straight points to expand their lead, however, AC Markham scored five consecutive points for the Spartans, snapping the run and cutting into the advantage.
• Extending the lead, Kentucky used a second extended scoring stretch out of the first media stoppage of the afternoon, reeling off 11 straight markers. Jeni Levine broke the scoring run with her first basket with Rebekah Gordon following with her first make, delivering Upstate its largest scoring run of the period.

 
Second Quarter

• Carrying momentum over from the latter half of the first quarter, the Spartans' opened the new stanza with four straight points with Gordon and Cassie Gallagher knocking down jumpers. Kentucky quickly turned the tide on Upstate with the game's longest scoring run—15 straight points—while outscoring Upstate 21-3 following the Spartans' first two buckets of the period.

 
Third Quarter

• Coming out of the locker room, the Wildcats held their momentum, opening the new half by outpacing the Spartans 11-2 with a jumper from Gordon preventing a long scoring run. After knocking down just one three in the first half, Upstate wrangled momentum from its foe with back-to-back treys from Zora Fray-Chinn and Markham.
• Taking a timeout following Markham's three with Upstate on its longest scoring run of the day, head coach Jason Williams sparked the Spartans' offense to its highest-scoring quarter. The Spartans closed out the quarter with nine points following the called timeout, seeing five of its nine tallies coming from the free throw line, three knockdowns from Vera Soderblom, and two from Fray-Chinn.

 
Fourth Quarter

• Opening the final stanza, Upstate went blow-for-blow with Kentucky, not allowing the Wildcats to fashion an extended scoring run and not letting its opponent score more than four points before its next basket. Kentucky, however, closed the game on a nine-point scoring stretch to create the final margin.

 
Notable

• Opening a new campaign, six Spartans—Emma Blair, Cassie Gallagher, Gwen Jenkins, Aubrie Kierscht, and Ava Miller—made their USC Upstate debuts with each of the debutants scoring.
• While Monday's game may be the program's first without a double-figure scorer since Nov. 7, 2023, the contest saw 11 of the 13 available Spartans score as all 13 made their season debuts.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Continuing a three-game road swing to open the new campaign, USC Upstate heads back to the Carolinas for each of its next two games away from home, returning to action next Saturday at UNC Greensboro. Tip-off in the "Battle of the Spartans' is set for 12 p.m. ET on Nov. 9.
 
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