Riding Stifling Defense and Rebounding Prowess, Women's Basketball Pushes Road Winning Streak to Three, Downing Radford 57-52

Wednesday, February 18

Radford, Va.

7:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

9-18,4-9Big South

Radford

17-11,9-4Big South

USC Upstate

Radford

Zoe Richardson Dribbling vs. UNCG 4Q 2025 - NM

Photo by: Natalia Moll

2/18/2026 10:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

RADFORD, Va. – Embarking on its penultimate road contest winners of each of its last two away from home, USC Upstate women's basketball pushed its road winning streak to three, riding its defensive and rebounding efforts to a 57-52 win over Radford Wednesday evening. The victory marks the fifth in the series for the Spartans in the Division I era (2007-pres.), winning for just the second time inside the Dedmon Center.

In what has become a hallmark of the team's three-game road winning streak, Upstate bested the Highlanders on the glass 52 to 33, staking a +19 rebounding margin. In their last three road wins, the Spartans' average rebounding margin sits at +20. Five Spartans corralled seven or more rebounds, led by nine boards from redshirt junior forward Vera Söderblom. Redshirt junior guard Aubrie Kierscht (career-high), graduate student forward Aijah Palmore, and sophomore forward Zoe Richardson each totaled eight rebounds while redshirt sophomore guard Cassie Gallagher pulled in seven.

In a balanced scoring effort, nine of the 10 Spartans who logged minutes scored with Gallagher and Richardson heading the group with 11 points each. Richardson's total stands as her first career double-figure scoring game, finishing an efficient 5-of-7 from the floor. Just behind the duo and just shy of double-figures, Kierscht chipped in nine markers.

Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 57; Radford 52
Records: USC Upstate (9-19; 4-9 Big South); Radford (17-11; 9-4 Big South)
Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.

How It Happened
First Quarter

Controlling the opening tap, Upstate drove down and scored on its opening possession as Aijah Palmore knifed to the hoop, finding a soft spot in the defense for the layup. Her bucket started a 6-0 Spartan scoring run, seeing a floater from Cassie Gallagher and a layup from Vera Söderblom to build an early advantage.
Battling back, thanks in large part to four makes from the free throw line, Radford notched the next eight markers, taking the lead for its only time in the game. A pair of Emma Blair free throws tied the game before a Cassie Gallagher triple delivered Upstate a lead it wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the game, part of a 5-0 Spartan run to go back ahead.

Second Quarter

Beginning the second stanza much as it did the first, Upstate reeled off a 6-0 scoring run behind a trey from Macy Wike and a traditional three-point play from Söderblom. Drawing the margin back to the three points, Radford responded with a 6-0 run of its own, hitting a pair of threes.
Answering the Highlander run, Upstate embarked on its longest scoring stretch of the evening, notching 11 straight points to expand its advantage. Aubrie Kierscht proved the catalyst for the run, scoring six of her 11 points in the stretch. Radford closed the half outscoring Upstate 5-2, drawing the margin to 11 heading into the locker room.

Third Quarter

Spanning the half, Radford matched Upstate's longest scoring run, posting its own 11-0 scoring spurt, marking the first eight points of the new period. Upstate countered with the next three markers before the Highlanders upped their scoring run to 15-3, pulling within two.
Upstate's answer manifested itself in its suffocating defense, holding Radford without a field goal for over 10 minutes of game time. The Spartans reeled off an 8-0 run as the quarter dwindled, seeing the stretch hit 8-2 in favor of Upstate at the stanza's close thanks to a pair of Radford free throws.

Fourth Quarter

For the third time in four quarters, Upstate began the latest period with the first six tallies, seeing Zoe Richardson, Gallagher, and Gwen Jenkins each hit shots. Radford snapped the run and its long field-goal-less drought with 5:35 to play before Richardson answered with 5:04 remaining, Upstate's last field goal.
The Highlanders cut into the Spartan advantage with an 8-0 run before a Gallagher free throw with 27 seconds remaining ended the run. Upstate weathered a final comeback attempt from the Highlanders, hitting five free throws to Radford's two triples in the final 30 seconds, earning the five-point victory.

Notable

Corralling 52 rebounds against the Highlanders, Upstate's rebounding total ties its game at Western Carolina on Dec. 3, 2025, for its most single-game rebounds against a Division I team this season. The 52 boards are the most by the Spartans in a conference game since pulling in 54 versus Gardner-Webb on Feb. 29, 2020.
Winning the rebounding margin by 19 rebounds Wednesday, Upstate recorded its third game over its last four, where it outrebounded its opponents by a +18 or greater margin, all Spartan victories. In its last three road wins, Upstate owns a +20 average rebounding margin.

Up Next for the Spartans
Beginning the final homestand of the season, USC Upstate returns to the G.B. Hodge Center Saturday, hosting Longwood. The Spartans host Alumni Day and Senior Day with tip-off at 2 p.m. ET.

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