SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With the threat of Winter Storm Fern threatening much of the East Coast this weekend, USC Upstate women's basketball sees a unique weekend and challenge ahead as its Saturday contest at Longwood pushes forward a day. The game, the 19^th meeting between the clubs in the Spartans' Division I era, tips off at 2 p.m. ET Friday for the program's first Big South Conference game not played on Wednesday or Saturday since Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022.
 
Friday's contest also adds a new layer to league play as the game features the program's quickest turnaround from one conference contest to the next since playing Presbyterian on back-to-back days, Feb. 15-16, 2022.
 
Friday's Matchup
January 23, 2026 | 2:00 p.m. ET
USC Upstate (6-14; 1-5 Big South) vs. Longwood (13-6; 4-2 Big South)
Joan Perry Brock Center | Farmville, Va.
 
TV: ESPN+ | Via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN App
Weekly Coaches Interview: Catch head coach Jason Williams weekly on Fox Sports Spartanburg every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET.
 
How They Stack Up
Records: USC Upstate (6-14; 1-5 Big South); Longwood (13-6; 4-2 Big South)
Series: Series tied 9-9
Last Five Meetings: March 6, 2025 (LWU 56; UPST 37); March 1, 2025 (UPST 62; LWU 60 [OT]); Jan. 25, 2025 (UPST 46; LWU 45); March 7, 2024 (UPST 60; LWU 37); Feb. 7, 2024 (UPST 49; LWU 45)
 
Players to Watch
USC Upstate: Dropping 20 points to secure her third 20-plus point game in her last four Big South contests, redshirt sophomore guard Cassie Gallagher marked the Spartans' leading scorer Wednesday at UNC Asheville. Upping her scoring average to 15.6 points per game (17.5 PPG in Big South play), she ranks fourth in the Big South in scoring both overall and during conference play. Accumulating six 20-point scoring games in 2025-26, Gallagher totals seven during her career with her first coming in a 62-60 overtime win at Longwood on March 1, 2025.
 
Longwood: Entering Friday's game, junior forward Otaifo Esenabhalu leads the Big South in rebounding, averaging 8.7 boards per contest, pulling in 157 over 18 games. She leads the league on the offensive glass, averaging 3.8 offensive rebounds per game, ranking 21^st in the NCAA in the category. Esenabhalu supplements her rebounding averaging 8.7 points per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field.
 
Up Next for the Spartans
Off a two-game road swing, USC Upstate returns to the G.B. Hodge Center next Wednesday, returning home to host Radford in the final game of the front half of Big South play. The Spartans and Highlanders meet for a 7 p.m. ET tip.
 
Connect with the Spartans 
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics 
Twitter | @UpstateWBB | @UpstateSpartans 
Instagram | @UpstateWBB | @UpstateSpartans 
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
 
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