SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After falling behind by as much as 19 points, the Charleston Southern women's basketball team was within one possession of completing a comeback, but fell just short on Saturday, dropping to 2-2 in conference play with a 59-58 loss to the USC Upstate Spartans.
 
Down by one point with under 10 seconds left, the Bucs (5-12, 2-2 in conference) attempted a couple of shots from beyond the arc, but could not connect as time expired. After being down by 15 points at halftime, Charleston Southern outscored USC Upstate (8-8, 3-0 in conference) 32-18 in the second half.
 
Upstate started off hot, jumping out to a 9-0 lead and forcing a timeout. The Bucs did not pick up their first field goal until the 5:39 mark of the first quarter. The Upstate lead went to as high as 19 points with 4:30 left in the second quarter, when they connected on a layup to make it 37-18. Both teams were able to trade baskets as the half closed, but a Maya Robinson jumper in the paint made it 41-26 at the halfway mark.
 
Out of halftime, the Bucs came out firing, as they came out of the locker room on a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to 11 points. The success continued, as a jumper by Madison Adamson trimmed the Spartan lead to 50-45 with 8:59 to go in the fourth quarter.
 
Charleston Southern continued to fight in the fourth quarter, as a steal and a fast-break layup from Shimei Muhammad made it 57-56 in favor of the Spartans with 2:48 left. After Upstate picked up a basket, Kennedi Jackson made it 59-58 with 1:17 left to make it 59-58.
 
Adamson had a career day on Saturday, scoring a personal-best 17 points on 4/6 shooting from beyond the arc. She also pulled down 12 rebounds making it two-straight games of double-digit rebounds as well as her second double-double of the season. Jackson also had a career high with four blocks on the evening, and as a team, the Bucs had season-high of seven.
 
The Bucs were 9/31 in the first half but shot 47% from the field in the fourth quarter including 3/6 from beyond the arc. They had 23 bench points, as Maya Robinson, Keshunti Nichols and Alba Garcia all had six points while Muhammad had five.
 
Up Next
Charleston Southern will get seven days off before their next game, as they do not play again until Saturday, Jan. 20 when they host High Point. The game begins at 2 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+