SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Home ahead of the holidays following a two-game road stint, USC Upstate women's basketball improved to 3-0 on its home floor, pouring in its most points in a contest in over three seasons and corralling its most rebounds in a game in over 10 seasons in a 96-37 victory over Montreat. Upstate finished the night shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc, leading to its 96-point outburst as all 11 Spartans found the scoring column and hit at least one field goal.
 
Pacing the Spartans, redshirt sophomore guard Cassie Gallagher dropped a game-best 22 points, scoring 20-plus points in consecutive games for the first time in her career as she's the first Spartan with consecutive 20-plus point scoring games since Trinity Johnson during the 2023-24 campaign. Redshirt freshman forward Madison Miller joined Gallagher in double-figures, offering a career-high 13 points while three additional Spartans, redshirt sophomore forward Emma Blair, graduate student forward Aijah Palmore, and freshman guard Jessa Troy (career-high scoring total), each added nine points.
 
On the glass, Upstate pulled in 74 rebounds, the second-best single-game total in the NCAA this season. The game marked the fourth 70-plus rebound game in program history, the first since the 2015-16 season. Palmore, the first Spartan with back-to-back double-digit rebounding performances this season, corralled a season-high 12 with sophomore forward Zoe Richardson adding 10 boards, a career-high. Just shy of double-figures, redshirt junior Vera Söderblom and sophomore guard Gwen Jenkins tallied nine and eight rebounds, respectively.
 
The Spartan bench, for the second straight home contest, finished the evening with 40-plus combined points, totaling 42 against Montreat.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 96; Montreat 37
Records: USC Upstate (3-5; 0-0 Big South); Montreat (3-5; 1-2 AAC)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Quarter

• Bursting out of the blocks, the Spartans began the game on a 9-0 scoring, seeing seven straight Cassie Gallagher markers follow a layup from Vera Söderblom. Broken by a Montreat free throw, the Spartans' run continued with the next seven points in Upstate's favor, growing a 16-1 advantage before the Cavaliers' first field goal.
• Coming with 3:45 to play in the quarter, Montreat's first made field goal fell from beyond the arc, stoking a 12-2 scoring stretch to trim the Upstate advantage to five with 1:42 to play in the stanza. Madison Miller and Lexi Castator responded for the Spartans with a traditional three-point play and a three-pointer, respectively, pushing the advantage back to double-digits for the final time.

 
Second Quarter

• The Spartans struck first again in the second frame as Gallagher knocked down her second triple of the evening. Upstate, following a pair of Cavalier free throws, reeled off the next 11 points before Montreat snuffed the Spartan run with its first field goal of the quarter with 5:35 remaining before half.
• Emma Blair and Gwen Jenkins answered the Montreat bucket with the next six points, a Jenkins layup sandwiched between two of Blair's. Upstate's final field goal of the opening half came with 2:51 to play as Jessa Troy rose up and hit a trey from the right wing.

 
Third Quarter

• Extending its lead out of the halftime locker room, Upstate notched the first four points behind buckets from Castator and Aijah Palmore. Following the Cavaliers' first basket of the third stanza, the two sides jockeyed back-and-forth into the media stoppage.
• Following a Montreat three with 6:21 to play, Upstate put the clamps down defensively, holding the Cavaliers without a field goal for nearly 14 minutes of game action. Coinciding with the defensive effort, Upstate's offense built a 19-1 scoring run to close the quarter.

 
Fourth Quarter

• Adding to 16 straight markers to close the third quarter, Upstate began the final period with the first 15, fashioning the team's longest scoring run of the season, a 31-0 run. The Spartans held the Cavaliers off the scoreboard for the first nearly nine minutes of the quarter, surrendering the first points from the free throw line with 1:14 to play.
• Montreat hit its final field goal with 49 seconds remaining, ending a nearly 14-minute drought from the field.

 
Notable

• Scoring 96 points Tuesday evening against Montreat, Upstate's total marked the team's highest scoring game since dropping 102 points versus Mars Hill on Nov. 28, 2021. The game marks the highest-scoring game under head coach Jason Williams, besting the team's 80 points versus Presbyterian on Feb. 16, 2022.
• Hitting the glass, Upstate pulled in 74 rebounds, the most since totaling 75 versus Southern Wesleyan on Nov. 19, 2015. The total stands as the second-most by a NCAA Division I team in a game this season while ranking as the third-best single-game total in program history.
• Dropping 22 points to lead the Spartans, Cassie Gallagher notched 20-plus points for the second straight game, the first back-to-back 20-plus point efforts of her career. She's the first Spartan since Trinity Johnson on Feb. 10 and Feb. 14, 2024, to score 20 or more points in consecutive games.
• For the first time this season, all available Spartans found themselves in the scoring column as 11 players scored. All 11 players found the scoring column with a made field goal.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
After the holiday break, USC Upstate hits the road for the first of two straight contests away from home, travelling to Kennesaw State Friday. The Spartans and Owls, two former ASUN foes, meet for a 7 p.m. ET tip.
 
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