CHARLESTON, S.C. – On the road to open Big South Conference play as a new season begins ahead of the new year, USC Upstate women's basketball dropped its league opener Wednesday, falling 60-49 in a back-and-forth, tightly-contested contest against Charleston Southern.
 
Playing on what has become a calling card for the program, the Spartans won the rebounding margin for the eighth time this season after entering the game with a +8.2 mark on the glass—tops in the Big South. Leading the way, graduate student forward Aijah Palmore corralled a season-high-tying 14 rebounds, propelling her, alongside a team-high 16 points, to her third double-double of the season.
 
Securing her first career double-digit rebounding game, redshirt sophomore forward Emma Blair pulled in a career-best 10 boards, giving Upstate multiple players with 10 or more boards for the third time this season. Redshirt junior forward Vera Söderblom chipped in 10 rebounds as the trio of Palmore, Blair, and Söderblom for 32 rebounds, nearly besting Charleston Southern's 34 total rebounds on the glass themselves.
 
Owing to her team-high 16 markers, Palmore posted a season-best 77.8 field goal percentage, shooting an efficient 7-of-9 from the floor. Joining her in double-figures, redshirt sophomore guard Cassie Gallagher and redshirt junior guard Aubrie Kierscht notched 13 and 11 points, respectively, giving the Spartans three or more players scoring in double-figures for the fourth time in 2025-26.
 
Game Information
Score: Charleston Southern 60; USC Upstate 49
Records: USC Upstate (5-10; 0-1 Big South); Charleston Southern (3-11; 1-0 Big South)
Location: Buccaneer Fieldhouse | Charleston, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Quarter

• After winning the opening tap, USC Upstate jumped out to an early lead, taking advantage of a pair of triples from Aubrie Kierscht. Sandwiching a Charleston Southern field goal, Kierscht notched the first eight markers for the Spartans, forcing the Buccaneers into an early timeout. Upstate built its largest lead of the day out of said stoppage as Cassie Gallagher hit a jumper to build a 10-2 lead.
• Following Upstate's second eight-point lead of the day at 12-4, the Buccaneers began chipping away at the Spartan advantage, posting the game's longest scoring run, a 9-0 stretch to take the lead for the first time. The two sides swapped buckets over the final minute with a Buccaneer layup at the quarter buzzer, delivering the lead at the break.

Second Quarter

• Countering a pair of Charleston Southern free throws, Upstate regained the advantage following a 10-2 scoring stretch, bracketing a Buccaneer free throw with separate 5-0 runs. Bookending the stretch, Cassie Gallagher and Gwen Jenkins drained treys.
• Late in the half, an Emma Blair layup upped the Spartan advantage to five with 36 seconds to play before the half. Heading into the locker room, however, a Charleston Southern three with 11 seconds left, cutting the lead to two at the break.

Third Quarter

• Out of the locker room, the Buccaneers struck first, tying the game and beginning a stretch seeing the two sides trade baskets before Upstate notched the first scoring run of the new half. Gallagher and Palmore combined to create the short 4-0 scoring stretch for Upstate, crafting the Spartans' final lead of the game.
• Charleston Southern followed the short Spartan spurt with an 8-0 run, erasing the Upstate advantage. The Spartans pulled back with one behind another Gallagher field goal with 2:14 to play in the quarter, snapping the Buccaneer run.

Fourth Quarter

• Opening the final frame, Charleston Southern fashioned another 8-0 scoring run, extending the lead to double-figures for the first time. Palmore snapped the stretch with the Spartans' first markers of the fourth.
• She helped Upstate trim into the Buccaneer lead, sparking an 8-4 stretch in favor of the Spartans, seeing Jenkins and Kierscht knock down shots. Charleston Southern extended the lead back to 11, making four free throws in the final minutes of the contest.

 
Notable

• Besting Charleston Southern on the glass by 11 rebounds, Upstate secured its eighth instance of winning the rebounding margin this season, winning the battle by 10-plus boards for the seventh time.
• Wednesday's game featured two Spartans with double-digit rebounds, the third time Upstate has accomplished the feat this season. Aijah Palmore paced Upstate with a season-high-tying 14 rebounds, her sixth double-figure rebounding game of the season. She's featured in all three games featuring two Spartans with 10-plus boards.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
In the team's first contest of the new year, USC Upstate returns to the G.B. Hodge Center for the first time in 2026 Saturday. The Spartans host High Point, beginning a two-game homestand against the Panthers with a 4 p.m. ET tip.
 
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