SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Seeking its first Big South Conference victory of the campaign, USC Upstate women's basketball picked up its first league win Wednesday behind a strong defensive effort, leading to a 58-38 victory over Presbyterian at the G.B. Hodge Center. The Spartans snapped a three-game losing streak in their series with the institution that joined the NCAA Division I ranks with them on the same day.
 
Upstate hung its hat on the defensive end, holding the Blue Hose to the fewest points allowed by the Spartans against a D1 foe since March 7, 2021, when Upstate limited Longwood to 37 points. The Spartans also held Presbyterian to 15 made field goals, the fourth time holding an opponent to 15 or fewer makes from the floor.
 
Heading the offense, redshirt sophomore guard Cassie Gallagher dropped a game-best 24 points, shooting 11-of-17 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. The game, her fifth 20-plus point scoring effort of the season, delivered Upstate its third straight contest with a 20-point scorer, the first time accomplishing the feat since seeing six straight games with a 20-point scorer to close the 2021-22 season.
 
Redshirt junior guard Aubrie Kierscht, coming off a 20-plus point effort of her own, joined Gallagher in double-figures, closing the night with 14 markers behind 5-of-10 shooting (2-of-5 from three). Just shy of double-figures, graduate student forward Aijah Palmore neared a double-double with eight points and 12 rebounds. Her 12 boards secured her third double-digit rebounding game of Big South play, tops among Spartans.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 58; Presbyterian 38
Records: USC Upstate (6-13; 1-4 Big South); Presbyterian (2-15; 0-4 Big South)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Quarter

• For the first time during Big South play, Upstate ceded the first points of the night to its opponent as Presbyterian lifted the lid with a layup. The Spartans answered unconventionally for their 2025-26 season, getting their first points via free throws—a first for the season—from Aijah Palmore. Cassie Gallagher followed with a pull-up jumper, delivering Upstate's first lead.
• In response to their first deficit, the Blue Hose reeled off its longest scoring stretch of the evening with seven straight points, building a 9-4 advantage. Field goals from Gallagher and Kinley Paterson trimmed into the lead, but Presbyterian left the opening frame with a two-point advantage.

Second Quarter

• Growing its largest lead of the game, Presbyterian began the second quarter with a pair of threes, building a six-point advantage in the early goings of the period. Splitting the Blue Hose triples with a jumper of her own, Gallagher jump-started an 11-2 scoring stretch, pushing Upstate back ahead. The stretch culminated with a 9-0 Spartan run, the team's longest of the first half.
• Maintaining its lead heading into the halftime locker room, Upstate answered each Blue Hose field goal after the 9-0 run. The Spartans increased their advantage by one into the break, holding a four-point lead, thanks to an Aubrie Kierscht three, her second of the frame.

Third Quarter

• Extending her team's lead, Gallagher began the second half with the Spartans' first five points. Her individual scoring run bled into a 12-2 scoring stretch for Upstate, pushing its lead into double-figures for the first time.
• Trimming the Spartans' margin, the Blue Hose reeled off a 6-0 scoring run after ending Upstate's 7-0 stretch. The run helped Presbyterian cut the lead back to single digits as the quarter waned, ultimately cutting it to seven at the horn.

Fourth Quarter

• Pushing its advantage back into double digits, Upstate opened the final stanza on a 12-0 scoring run, its longest of the evening. Gallagher stoked the stretch with seven of the 12 markers, seeing contributions from Kierscht, Paterson, and Vera Söderblom.
• With 2:51 to play, Presbyterian knocked down its lone field goal of the final frame, ending a nearly nine-minute scoring drought. Upstate closed with four of the final five points of the night, extending the final margin to 20 behind a Paterson free throw in the final minute.

 
Notable

• Seeing Cassie Gallagher drop 24 points for the Spartans against Presbyterian, Upstate has seen a 20-plus point scorer in three consecutive game following Gallagher's 22 points versus Winthrop and Aubrie Kierscht's 25 points against Gardner-Webb. This marks the first time under head coach Jason Williams with three such games consecutively, the first time accomplishing the feat since the final six games of the 2021-22 season.
• Besting the Blue Hose on the glass by 11 rebounds, Upstate extended its streak of games winning the rebounding margin to begin league play to five. The Spartans own a +9.6 margin on the boards during Big South play.
• Holding the Blue Hose to 38 points, Upstate limited its opponent to the fewest points allowed against a D1 opponent since March 7, 2024 (37 vs. Longwood).

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Following the team's first bye of the 2025-26 Big South Conference schedule, USC Upstate returns to action a week from Wednesday against UNC Asheville on Feb. 21. The first meeting of the Ingles I-26 Rivalry Series between the Spartans and Bulldogs features a 6:30 p.m. ET tip.
 
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