SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Returning home to begin a season-long three-game homestand, USC Upstate women's basketball fell Saturday at the G.B. Hodge Center in a "Battle of the Spartans," in a 70-39 decision against UNCG.
 
Fashioning her second double-figure scoring game of the season, redshirt junior forward Vera Söderblom tallied a team-best 11 points behind 4-of-5 shooting, a season-best mark. She complemented her scoring with five rebounds, giving her at least five boards in eight straight contests. Redshirt sophomore guard Cassie Gallagher and redshirt freshman forward Madison Miller added eight and six points, respectively, following Söderblom in the box score.
 
Pacing Upstate on the glass, freshman guard Kinley Paterson pulled in a career-high six boards, pairing her total with a career-best five points. Miller and Paterson paced an Upstate bench scoring 18 markers to the 13 of UNCG from its reserves, securing a 10^th straight contest with Upstate's bench outscoring its opponents' bench.
 
Game Information
Score: UNCG 70; USC Upstate 39
Records: USC Upstate (4-7; 0-0 Big South); UNCG (5-4; 0-0 SoCon)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Quarter

• Opening the day's scoring, Vera Söderblom laid home the first of four made buckets, taking a feed from Cassie Gallagher. UNCG, however, responded with a 13-0 scoring run, the game's longest stretch, ultimately outscoring Upstate 15-1 to close the quarter.

 
Second Quarter

• Adding to the final two markers of the opening frame, UNCG scored the first three of the second period, fashioning a 5-0 run before Söderblom snapped the stretch with a layup. She snapped a 4-0 stretch later in the quarter off another assist from Emma Blair.
• Aubrie Kierscht knocked down Upstate's first three of the afternoon, taking a feed from Gallagher before firing from the right wing. Gallagher later notched her first field goal, hitting a pull-up from the baseline.

 
Third Quarter

• Answering a UNCG score out of the break, Söderblom notched her first markers of the second half, converting a traditional three-point play, her second such conversion this season. Söderblom's conversion helped spur a 12-6 stretch for Upstate as Gallagher and Kinley Paterson hit consecutive field goals at the end of the stretch, forming Upstate's longest scoring run of the afternoon.

 
Fourth Quarter

• Expanding its lead, UNCG notched the first eight markers of the final frame. Jessa Troy splashed a three from the wing, snapping the run with Upstate's first points of the fourth quarter.
• Over the final two minutes of regulation, Madison Miller hit three shots for Upstate, notching all six of her points in the stretch. She hit the final field goal of the game with 26 ticks remaining.

 
Notable

• Outpacing UNCG by an 18-13 mark, Upstate secured its 10^th straight contest where its bench outscored that of its opponent. The lone contest Upstate has failed to win the bench points comparison was the season opener at Clemson.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Wrapping the team's SoCon stretch and continuing its three-game homestand, Upstate returns to action following exam week on Dec. 14 against Samford. The Spartans and Bulldogs tip off at 2 p.m. ET.
 
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