Women's Basketball Battles No. 1 Seed High Point as Season Comes to a Close at the Air Force Reserve Big South Women's Basketball Championship

Thursday, March 5

Johnson City, Tenn.

11:30 a.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

12-20,6-10Big South

High Point

25-5,13-3Big South

USC Upstate

High Point

Photo by: Catherine Harney

3/5/2026 3:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Advancing to the quarterfinal round of the Air Force Reserve Big South Women's Basketball Championship after its victory in the opening round Wednesday evening, USC Upstate women's basketball displayed its resolve in its matchup with No. 1 seed High Point. Ultimately, the Spartans' season came to a close in its 32^nd contest of the year, falling 71-52 Thursday afternoon to the Panthers.

Leading the Spartans, redshirt sophomore guard Cassie Gallagher capped her campaign with her 10^th straight double-figure scoring game, offering 17 points behind 5-of-13 shooting, including a perfect 6-of-6 mark from three. Joining her in double-figures, freshman guard Kinley Paterson dropped in 11 markers, the most in her career against a Division I opponent and one point shy of her career high.

Nearly joining Gallagher and Paterson in double-figures, redshirt junior guard Aubrie Kierscht recorded eight points while redshirt junior forward Vera Söderblom added six. On the glass, graduate student forward Aijah Palmore corralled a game-high eight rebounds.

Game Information
Score: No. 1 High Point 71; USC Upstate 53
Records: USC Upstate (12-20; 6-10 Big South); High Point (25-5; 13-3 Big South)
Location: Freedom Hall | Johnson City, Tenn.

How It Happened
First Quarter

Beginning the game, the two sides traded buckets as High Point struck first with a triple before a pull-up jumper from Cassie Gallagher provided Upstate's answer. The Panthers reeled off a 7-0 run following Gallagher's basket, opening up their advantage.
Upstate retorted with a 5-0 scoring run of its own, drawing within three behind an Aubrie Kierscht triple and Kinley Paterson layup. High Point lengthened its advantage to double-figures for the first time, outpacing Upstate 10-2 as the quarter waned.
Gallagher trimmed the deficit back into single digits with the final six points for the Spartans in the frame, a trey and a traditional three-point play conversion.

Second Quarter

Building its advantage, High Point began the second frame with a 13-2 scoring run, extending the lead to 19. Kierscht made the lone Upstate field goal in the stretch while Vera Söderblom snapped the stretch-ending 9-0 run with the first of two consecutive field goals for Upstate.
The Panthers added a second 9-0 scoring run in the final minutes of the half, pushing their advantage to 26. Kierscht, driving the baseline, hit a wrap-around layup at the buzzer to snap the run.

Third Quarter

Starting the third stanza in a similar fashion to the game's opening quarter, the two sides traded buckets, the Spartans' field goal sunk by Gallagher. The two teams also traded 4-0 scoring spurts, Upstate's spurt fuelling a 7-2 scoring stretch, seeing markers from Paterson, Emma Blair, and Gallagher.
High Point countered the 7-2 Upstate stretch with the following five markers. Upstate closed the quarter with a trio of free throws, snapping the Panther run.

Fourth Quarter

Feeling one another out to open the final frame, neither side notched a field goal until High Point hit a layup with 6:56 remaining. The Spartans answered with the next three markers, kickstarting a 12-2 scoring stretch, including the team's longest run of the day, 9-0. The stretch featured scoring from Aijah Palmore, Paterson, Kierscht, Söderblom, Madison Miller, and Lexi Castator.

Notable

Dropping 17 markers, Cassie Gallagher registered her 25^th double-figure scoring game of the season, closing the year with a 10-game streak of double-figure scoring efforts.

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