SPARTANBURG, S.C. - A late rally comes up short for the Charleston Southern women's basketball team on Saturday, as they fell to 0-2 in the conference with a 59-57 loss to the USC Upstate Spartans. It was a back-and-forth battle that saw 15 lead changes. 

The Bucs (2-11, 0-2) jumped on the Spartans (4-8, 1-0) early on in the first quarter, as Zaire Hicks knocked down a three-point shot to make it 7-4 mid-way through the first quarter, and Sha'Mya Leigh hit a three-pointer as time ran out to make it 16-13. 

After CSU pushed the lead to 18-13 to begin the second quarter, the USC Upstate went on a little bit of a run, taking a 30-25 lead and forcing a CSU timeout. Out of the timeout, Kajsa Alberg and Jazmine Jackson knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to give the Bucs the lead back. Then, Jackson knocked down a two-point jumper as time expired in the first half, capping off an 8-0 run that gave the Bucs a 33-30 lead at halftime. 

Out of halftime, the Bucs stretched the lead to six points with a three-point basket by Catherine Alben. After that, the Spartans went on a 9-1 run to take the lead back. Down by one, the Bucs got four-straight points from Kennedi Jackson and five points from Carleigh Andrews, as the Bucs went on a 14-8 run to end the third quarter and take a 52-47 lead. 

The fourth and final quarter was when the Spartans turned up their defense, holding the Bucs to only five points. They started the half on a 12-0 run to take a 59-52 lead and held the Bucs scoreless for the first 7:30 of the quarter. Hicks knocked down a three-point attempt to end the run with 2:30 left in regulation and then cut the lead to two on the next possession with a jumper by Tori Gittens. 

With 1.4 seconds left in regulation, the Bucs had the ball with a chance to win, but could not knock down their shot, giving the Spartans the two-point victory. 

Kennedi Jackson led the Bucs with 10 points while pulling down six rebounds, which also led the team and blocked three shots on the defensive end. Hicks had nine points and both Jazmine Jackson and Leigh had eight points. 

Next Up
The Bucs are back in action this Wednesday, take on Longwood at 6 p.m. in Farmville, V.A. looking to get their first conference win. They are back at home next Saturday, January 7^th when they host Presbyterian College at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.