Greenville, S.C. – Brianna Lewis led four Spartans in double-figures on Saturday afternoon as the USC Upstate women's basketball team dropped a 78-67 non-conference decision to the Furman Paladins at Timmons Arena.
USC Upstate falls to 1-4 on the season while Furman improves to 2-2 overall.
Lewis finished the game shooting 6-of-11 from the field, and 6-of-8 at the free throw line, and scored a team-high 18 points to go with seven assists.
Michaela Gibbons set a new career-high with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting including three 3-pointers.
DeNisha Swain contributed 12 points while Natalia Panufnik went 4-for-4 from the field for 10 points.
Riley Popplewell tallied seven points and a team-leading four rebounds.
Le'Jzae Davidson scored a game-high 22 points for the Paladins and was one of four players to record double-digit points.
Tierra Hodges had 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 45.3 percent (24-of-53) from the field.
Both teams concluded with 13 second chance points.
USC Upstate's bench contributed 30 points as Gibbons and Panufnik combined for 24.
Furman opened the game on an 8-0 run over the first 3:23 and held an eight-point lead.
After a 3-pointer by Gibbons, the Paladins scored five straight points to lead 13-3 at the 4:32 mark.
The Spartans got as close as seven points twice with the last coming at 16-9 with 3:44 remaining after a 3-pointer from Swain.
A layup from Bailey Wensler with 2:33 left put USC Upstate within nine points at 20-11.
The Paladins scored the final six points over the last 1:52 and led 26-11 after the first quarter.
Furman outscored the Spartans 10-2 to begin the second quarter and held a 36-13 lead with 7:58 remaining.
The Paladins led by at least 20 points until the 3:25 mark when Gibbons connected on a 3-pointer and put the score at 40-22.
A layup by Furman's Tierra Hodges with 36 seconds left gave it a 46-24 lead at halftime.
The Paladins scored six of the first eight points of the second half as USC Upstate trailed 52-26 at the 5:56 mark.
Popplewell and Kathryn Kirkwood posted three straight points for the Spartans to cut their deficit down to 52-29 with 4:46 remaining.
Furman took its largest lead of the game at 60-29 with 3:13 left after a 3-pointer.
USC Upstate finished the quarter on an 8-2 run over the last 2:46.
The Paladins held a 62-37 lead through three quarters.
The Spartans outscored Furman 30-16 in the fourth quarter.
USC Upstate began the period on a 10-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Camilla Kilinc, and trimmed the Paladins lead to 64-47 with 7:46 to go.
Swain knocked down a 3-pointer at the 3:11 mark as the Spartans made the score 71-59.
USC Upstate got as close as 11 points twice with the first coming at 74-63 with 1:37 remaining after Lewis made a pair of free throws.
After Furman converted on two free throws, Gibbons made a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to put the final score at 78-67.
The Spartans continue their four-game road trip on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. against North Carolina Central.