Defense provides the difference in comeback road win over SC State - University of South Carolina

Tuesday, November 10

Orangeburg, S.C.

7:00 PM

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

3-1,0-0Big South

SC State

1-2,0-0MEAC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
USC Upstate	14	11	16	13	54
South Carolina St.	14	15	6	15	50

Photo by: Tristan Craine

11/10/2026 10:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

ORANGEBURG, SC – A staunch defensive effort coupled with a strong fourth quarter on the offensive end provided the difference as USC Upstate's women's basketball team notched a 54-50 win over South Carolina State on Tuesday night in Orangeburg.

Grace Booth (Jr., Glen Rose, Tex.) and Keira Hudson (So., Australia) paced the Spartans (3-1) on offense with a dozen points each, Booth notching a double-double with 10 rebounds. Upstate trailed by four at halftime, but came out hot in the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 16-6 in the third quarter taking the lead on a Haylie Lamonde (Fr., McDonald, Pa.) free throw with 2:44 left in the quarter and never looked back.

The Spartans would seal the contest by shooting 55% in the fourth quarter and holding off a late Bulldog rally as the lead was trimmed to just one at 51-50 with 2:44 remaining. SC State would not score again as the Spartans stifling defense held the host Bulldogs to just 29% shooting for the game (17-58) and just 4 of 14 in the final period.

The offensive effort for Upstate was diverse as not only did Booth and Hudson score in double figures but a trio of Spartans tallied 9 points including Lamonde, Lexi Castator (Jr., Ft. Wayne, Ind.) and Emma Blair (Jr., Latrobe, Pa.)

Monajah Ford led the Bulldogs (1-2) with 13 points, one of two SC State players in double figures.

Booth scored the Spartans first six points of the game for Upstate and SC State looked to take control of the game on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter, but the Spartans responded with an 8-0 as well to tie the contest at 22.

NOTES
Grace Booth notched her second double-double of the season and had five such efforts last year at Houston Christian.
Keira Hudson has now scored in double figures in three of the Spartans first four games this season
Lexi Castator's 9 points are the most she has scored against a DI opponent in her career and the 28 minutes tonight is also a career high
Haylie Lamonde marked a career high in minutes (27) and points (9) early in her freshman campaign.

UP NEXT
Game two of a four game road swing takes place Saturday at 1:00 pm at UNC Greensboro (ESPN+). The Spartans will play at Clemson (Nov. 18) and Tennessee Tech (Nov. 21) before returning to the Hodge Center November 25 at 4:00 pm to host Tennessee State and open a six-game homestand.

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