CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern hits the road for the final time in the 2020-21 regular season as the Buccaneers make the trip up to Spartanburg for a two-game series against USC Upstate. The Bucs will tipoff against the Spartans at the G.B. Hodge Center on Thursday night at 6 p.m., while CSU and Upstate will close out the series on Friday night at 6 p.m. Both games will be carried live on ESPN+.
Game One – Thursday, February 25
- Charleston Southern (6-16, 4-14 Big South) vs. USC Upstate (7-14, 5-11 Big South)
- 6 p.m. * Spartanburg, S.C. * G.B. Hodge Center
- Game Notes | Live Stats | ESPN+
Game Two – Friday, February 26
- Charleston Southern (6-16, 4-14 Big South) vs. USC Upstate (7-14, 5-11 Big South)
- 6 p.m. * Spartanburg, S.C. * G.B. Hodge Center
- Game Notes | Live Stats | ESPN+
Series History
USC Upstate leads the all-time series over the Buccaneers, 10-5, dating back to the first matchup in 1979-80. The Bucs' series against the Spartans is one of the earliest in CSU program history, but it did not get off to an auspicious start with Upstate winning the first five matchups. CSU's longest winning streak, a three-game stretch that included all three games in the 2018-19 season, came just two years ago.
Last Five Contests
- Feb. 11, 2020 – USC Upstate won 71-64
- Dec. 28, 2019 – USC Upstate won 70-53
- Mar. 12, 2019 – CSU won 67-52 (Big South First Round)
- Feb. 9, 2019 – CSU won 74-62
- Jan. 19, 2019 – CSU won 78-75
USC Upstate swept both contests last season with the Spartans snapping CSU's three-game winning streak in the series. The Spartans took the opener in Spartanburg, 70-53, before returning to down the Bucs in the Buc Dome in mid-February, 71-64.
I
n the opener last season, USC Upstate utilized a 13-0 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters to allow the Spartans to pull away in the 70-53 win. USC Upstate held off the Bucs despite 11 points from
Tori Gittens and
Tierra Steede's nine-point, five-rebound performance.
In the second contest, the Spartans outscored the Bucs 24-10 in the third quarter and held off a late CSU charge in taking the 71-64 win. The Bucs cut the game down to one possession several times with
Kelsie Ruff connecting on a late three-pointer, but the Spartans held off the run in the win.
Tyra Wright (12-points, 10-rebounds) and Steede (10-points, 10-rebounds) both recorded double-doubles in the loss.
Buccaneers suffer back-to-back heartbreakers in road series at Radford
Radford's Kyanna Morgan hit a go-ahead three-point basket with under :02 to play lifting the home Highlanders past Charleston Southern 74-73 Saturday in Big South women's basketball from the Dedmon Center. Charleston Southern saw a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds from
Alyssia Faye, but Radford got a late clutch shot to overcome the Bucs' strong offensive day.
In the rematch, Radford dealt Charleston Southern a last-second heartbreak as the Buccaneers were unable to hold off the Highlanders in the closing seconds of regulation and then in overtime in the 76-67 loss. The Buccaneers) held the 65-61 lead with 17 seconds remaining following
Sha'Mya Leigh's successful free throw conversions. Radford rallied back with Destinee Marshall cutting the CSU lead down to 65-63 with 13 seconds remaining.
Out of the timeout, CSU was unable to convert a layup off the in-bounds pass and Radford took it down the court. Following a jump-ball situation, Ashley Tudor scored the game-tying layup with two seconds remaining to tie the contest heading into overtime. In the overtime period, the Highlanders outscored the Bucs 11-2 with Makaila Wilson and Tudor both scoring four points over the five-minute period to secure the conference win.
Upstate comes off COVID break after sweeping series over UNC Asheville
The Spartans enter the weekend series coming off a break in the schedule as their series against Campbell on February 19-20 was postponed. USC Upstate swept Asheville in their previous two games prior to the weekend to bounce back from being toppled by Radford in both contests at home.
Junior Molly Coleman dominated in the paint Friday afternoon as the Spartans took a 62-49 road win against UNC Asheville in game one of the back-to-back series. Four Spartans scored in double-figures including Coleman who posted a career-high 24 points and 14 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season, and Jada Logan who notched her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Upstate improved to 6-14 with the win.
USC Upstate women's basketball completed the series sweep of UNC Asheville Saturday afternoon with a 61-58 win. Jada Logan posted her second consecutive double-double and Denijsha Wilson put up a game-high 22 points to help the Spartans improve to 7-14 (5-11 BSC) this season.
Bucs against the Big South
No surprises when it comes to conference play for the Buccaneers as Charleston Southern has faced off with each Big South team on multiple occasions throughout the years. The inaugural matchup between the Bucs and a Big South opponent came back in the 1977-78 season when CSU fell to the Winthrop Eagles, 73-52.
CSU's history against USC Upstate hit a pause in the early 2000s as the Bucs lined up extensively in conference action, while Upstate was a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. With the Spartans joining the Big South, the teams have faced off twice annually.
- Campbell (5-39)
- Gardner-Webb (6-18)
- Hampton (4-3)
- High Point (14-32)
- Longwood (11-12)
- Presbyterian (14-16)
- Radford (18-58)
- UNC Asheville (32-40)
- USC Upstate (5-10)
- Winthrop (34-41)
Charleston Southern was picked 10th overall in the conference's preseason poll as voted on by the coaches prior to the Big South Media Day. USC Upstate was selected ninth in the preseason poll.
Current Standings
The teams enter the final two weeks of the 2020-21 regular season and most institutions still have multiple Big South games remaining on their schedule. If the season were to end today, the Bucs would be the No. 11 seed and would be traveling to No. 6 Presbyterian for the tournament's first round currently scheduled to begin on March 9.
Big South Standings (Big South Record)
- High Point (16-2)
- Campbell (8-3)
- Longwood (11-5)
- UNC Asheville (9-6)
- Gardner-Webb (8-7)
- Presbyterian (8-8)
- Radford (8-8)
- USC Upstate (5-11)
- Hampton (4-9)
- Winthrop (5-13)
- Charleston Southern (4-14)
About the Bucs
Charleston Southern started off Big South Conference play strong with the Bucs sweeping the opening series on the road against Hampton, before returning to the Field House to take one of two from Presbyterian. Since then, CSU has struggled to hit their stride with losses in 11 of their last 12 games. CSU did salvage a series split at home against UNC Asheville for its fourth Big South win of the season.
Junior forward
Alyssia Faye is pacing the Bucs over the last three games averaging 21.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest, while senior guard
Carmella Walker posted her first collegiate double-double this past weekend against Radford.
CSU Leaders per game
About the Spartans
USC Upstate struggled early in Big South play with the Spartans suffering defeats in eight of their first nine conference matchups before topping Hampton on January 16. The Spartans have picked up wins over Winthrop, Hampton, Gardner-Webb, and a series sweep over UNC Asheville this season.
Upstate added nonconference wins over St. Andrews and Flagler, while suffering defeats to Auburn, Alabama, and Old Dominion. Denijsha Wilson (12.3) paces the Spartans' scoring efforts on the season with three USC Upstate players averaging double-digits on the year.
USC Upstate Leaders per game
- Scoring – Denijsha Wilson (12.3)
- Rebounding – Molly Coleman (6.2)
- Assists – Denijsha Wilson (2.5)
- Steals – Denijsha Wilson (1.2)
- Blocks – Molly Coleman (1.2)
- Three-Pointers – Dakota McCaughan (1.5)
Upcoming Schedule
The Bucs will prepare for the 2021 Hercules Tires Big South Women's Basketball Championships starting on Saturday, March 6. The tournament will be a home site/earned seed format throughout the tournament, with the higher seed hosting each game.Â
All 11 teams will participate in the conference's annual postseason event, with first round games to held at the home site of the No. 6, No. 7 and 8 seeds on Saturday, March 6. The quarterfinal round will be Monday, March 8 at the home site of the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 seeds.
The higher seeds among the quarterfinal winners will host semifinal games on Thursday, March 11, with the highest remaining seed hosting the Championship game on Sunday, March 14 at 2:00pm on ESPN+
- March 6 – Big South First Round
- March 8 – Big South Quarterfinals
- March 11 – Big South Semifinals
- March 14 – Big South Championships
