CLINTON, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's basketball program finished the regular season with a 10-6 Big South record after a 47-43 loss to Presbyterian in Clinton on Wednesday night. Upstate will turn its attention to the Big South Women's Basketball Tournament where the Spartans enter as the No. 2 seed with their first game slated for March 7th against the No. 7 seed. 

The Spartans found themselves trailing the Blue Hose early after a 17-10 first quarter in Clinton. AC Markham and Dakota Reeves led the team on offense with three points apiece. Trinity Johnson and Isabell West were able to get on the board in the first quarter as well. West led the team in rebounds with three while Reeves, Johnson, and herself all were credited with one assist. As a unit, Upstate was able to have more success from distance, off of turnovers, and on the fast break.  

Upstate continued to fight to get out of the first quarter hole and was able to outscore Presbyterian 13-10 to bring the game within four points at the halftime break. Jeni Levine had a strong second quarter with seven points meanwhile Markham, Johnson, and Rebekah Gordon all added two to their first half totals. The Spartans had the upper hand with a 35.7% field goal percentage compared to the Blue Hose 30.8% field goal percentage. Upstate also once again showcased its ability to make the free points count as it went 75.0% from the free throw line in the second quarter. In the second quarter, Upstate scored more points off turnovers (3-0), in the paint (6-4), off second chances (2-0) and on the fast break (4-0). 

Coming out of the halftime break, Upstate posted 12 points while holding Presbyterian to only seven points to take the lead going into the final 10 minutes. Reeves scored half of Upstate's third quarter points on her own as well as collected one board. Gordon scored four points as well while Markham contributed the final two for Upstate's 12 third quarter points. The Spartans held the same third quarter field goal percentage as the Blue Hose but were able to have both a better three-point percentage and a better free throw percentage. Johnson and West finished the third quarter with two rebounds each while Gordon had the only block of the quarter.  

The final quarter saw the Spartans struggle to find success getting to the basket, resulting in a late 47-43 loss despite being tied 43-43 up until the last 90 seconds of the game. Levine finished the game strong with six final points in the fourth quarter to finish the game with 13 points. Markham and Reeves finished the game with another two rebounds respectively to try to help the Spartans achieve the comeback road win.  

 
Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 43; Presbyterian 45 
Records: USC Upstate (15-14; 10-6 Big South) vs. Presbyterian (17-13; 8-7 Big South)  
Location: Templeton Center | Clinton, S.C.    

How It Happened: 

First Quarter: Upstate 10; Presbyterian 17 

• The hosting Blue Hose got a jump on the Spartans, scoring eight points in the first three minutes compared to Upstate's two (8-2). 

• Upstate was able to outscore Presbyterian in the next three minutes to start to cut away at the Blue Hose lead (15-8). 

• In the final two and a half minutes, both teams tallied another two points to make it 17-10 in favor of Presbyterian.  

Second Quarter: Upstate 23; Presbyterian 27 

• Presbyterian started the second quarter with six points while Upstate tallied four to make put the game within nine points (23-14). 

• Upstate outscored Presbyterian 5-2 over the next three minutes to put the game within four points just before the media timeout (25-19). 

• Following the media timeout, Upstate added another four points to its total while allowing only one made layup to bring the game within four points going into the halftime break (27-23). 

Third Quarter: Upstate 35; Presbyterian 34 

• The Spartans came out of the break hungry, outscoring the Blue Hose 5-2 to cut Presbyterian's lead to only one point before the media timeout (29-28). 

• Both teams continued to battle with Upstate adding another four points to its total while Presbyterian added another five points to keep the game within two points in favor of the hosts (34-32). 

• After a scoreless four minutes, Upstate collected the final points of the third quarter to take the lead going into the final 10 minutes (35-34). 

Fourth Quarter: Upstate 43; Presbyterian 45 

• The Blue Hose started the fourth quarter with five points to reclaim the lead and establish a four-point buffer (39-35).  

• After over three minutes of scoreless play, Upstate was able to outscore Presbyterian 4-2 to bring the game within one basket before the media timeout.  

• Following the media timeout, both Upstate and Presbyterian scored another four points until a Spartan foul gave the Blue Hose two free throws which were made to conclude the game with a 47-43 Blue Hose win.  

Notable 

• Jeni Levin led the Spartans on offense with 13 points for her 12th game of the season scoring in double figures.  

• Trinity Johnson led the team in assists (4) for the 23rd game of the season.  

• Isabell West led the team in rebounds (9) for the 18th game of the season.  

• This was the Spartans lowest scoring game since Feb. 9th against Longwood (49). 

Up Next for the Spartans  
USC Upstate women's basketball will enter the Big South Tournament as the No. 2 seed and are set to take on the No. 7 seed in the quarter finals on Thursday, Mar. 7 at 6:00 p.m.   

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