SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Returning to the road for the second time during Big South Conference play, USC Upstate women's basketball nearly secured its first league victory of the season, succumbing in the final minute in a 64-61 decision on the road at Gardner-Webb. The Spartans held the game's momentum in their hands, leading for over 37 minutes of game action, repeatedly turning away Runnin' Bulldog comeback attempts, before Gardner-Webb used a layup with 41 seconds remaining to wrestle the lead away from Upstate.
 
Heading the Spartans, redshirt junior guard Aubrie Kierscht secured her third 20-plus point scoring game of the season, finishing the afternoon with a game-best 25 markers. She started strong out of the gate, hitting her first seven shot attempts, six from beyond the arc, entering halftime with 23 points—15 of which she dropped behind five triples in the first quarter. Kierscht closed the game shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 6-of-11 from three-point range, adding three rebounds and two assists.
 
Just shy of double-figures, redshirt sophomore guard Cassie Gallagher and redshirt freshman forward Madison Miller registered eight points apiece. On the boards, graduate student forward Aijah Palmore corralled a game-best 13 rebounds, her seventh double-digit rebounding game of the season.
 
Game Information
Score: Gardner-Webb 64; USC Upstate 61
Records: USC Upstate (5-13; 0-4 Big South); Gardner-Webb (5-12; 2-1 Big South)
Location: Paul Porter Arena | Boiling Springs, N.C.
 
How It Happened
First Quarter

• Capitalizing on the Spartans' opening possession, Aubrie Kierscht began the day's scoring with the first of her five first-quarter triples. She'd bookend Gardner-Webb's first extended scoring run of the quarter, a 5-0 stretch, with triples, giving her the Spartans' first nine points.
• Building the team's first lengthened lead of the day, Kierscht, along with Emma Blair and Madison Miller, helped Upstate outscore the Runnin' Bulldogs 10-2 in the middle portion of the frame, a stretch fueled by two Kierscht treys. Gardner-Webb responded with an 8-0 scoring run before Miller hit a layup at the buzzer to deliver Upstate the lead at the quarter break.

Second Quarter

• Following up on her last-second shot to end the opening period, Miller began the next with the first four points for the Spartans, bridging the break with a personal 6-0 scoring run. Upstate upped its scoring stretch to begin the quarter to a 6-2 stretch, building its lead towards double digits for the first time.
• Answering another Gardner-Webb bucket, Upstate embarked on its longest scoring run of the day, reeling off 10 straight points, seeing threes fall from Kierscht and Gwen Jenkins and layups from Kierscht and Palmore. The run grew the Spartans' lead to 16, a mark it'd hit twice as Upstate closed the half on a 13-5 scoring stretch.

Third Quarter

• Seeing the Runnin' Bulldogs notch the first score of the second half, Upstate responded with a 5-0 scoring run, getting contributions from Cassie Gallagher, Vera Söderblom, and Kinley Paterson. The run helped push the Spartans' advantage to 17, its largest lead of the contest.
• Gardner-Webb followed Upstate's 5-0 scoring run with a 6-0 scoring run of its own, helping trim its disadvantage back toward single digits. The two sides traded field goals throughout the remainder of the period before the Runnin' Bulldogs closed the frame with four straight markers, cutting the lead to 10 at the quarter break.

Fourth Quarter

• Building upon its momentum from the third period, Gardner-Webb pushed its scoring run to 8-0 to begin the final frame. Gallagher broke the run with a three-pointer before a pair of free throws from Jenkins and a layup from Söderblom helped Upstate keep the lead at nine, forming a 7-4 scoring stretch in its favor.
• With Upstate's final field goal coming at the 3:50 mark of the fourth quarter, Gardner-Webb closed the game on a 12-0 scoring runs, its longest of the day. The Runnin' Bulldogs took the lead for good with 41 seconds left, hitting a pair of free throws with 10 seconds to play to ice the game.

 
Notable

• Besting the Runnin' Bulldogs by a 40-32 margin on the glass, USC Upstate has won the rebounding margin in all four of its Big South Conference games. In each of the four contests, the Spartans' rebounding margin has been no smaller than +8.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Returning home to the G.B. Hodge Center to conclude a stretch of three of four games played at home and breaking up a stretch of three of four games played on the road, USC Upstate hosts Presbyterian Wednesday evening. Tip-off between the Spartans and Blue Hose is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
 
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