Pioneers Continue Surge with Road Win at Carolina

Winston-Salem, N.C. – Days before the start of the Spring 2026 semester and early in the New Year, the Spartanburg Methodist College women's basketball team earned its second straight win of 2026 with a 76–70 non-conference victory over host Carolina (N.C.) on Wednesday night.

Spartanburg Methodist College, which has won four of its last five games, improved to 8–7 on the season. Last year, in its first season of NAIA play, the Pioneers did not reach the eight-win mark until Feb. 15. In Wednesday's win, Halle Traylor scored a season-high 25 points, knocking down a season-best five 3-pointers, to lead four Pioneers in double figures. She was joined by Najah Gilliam (16 points), Desitny Middleton (14), and Krystal Johnson (12).

Carolina (2–13) was paced by a double-double from MeiLani Patterson, who finished with 19 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Dearia Page (15 points), Angelina Jordan (12), and Mya Smith (10).

SMC opened the game by holding the host Bruins to 32 percent shooting from the field while shooting a blistering 53.3 percent themselves to take an early 22–17 lead. Over the opening 10 minutes, Traylor scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers, to spark the visitors. The second quarter saw the Bruins trim the deficit to three on two occasions, including just before halftime when a layup by Page made it a 37–34 game at the break.

A second-chance basket by Carolina made it a one-point game to begin the second half, but the Pioneers responded with a five-point spurt by Gilliam, three of which came on a three-point play with 8:23 left in the quarter. SMC stretched its lead to as many as 11 points in the period.

In the final quarter, the Pioneers extended the lead to 13, but Carolina refused to concede. Trailing by 12 with 1:36 remaining, the Bruins scored nine straight points to cut the deficit to three with 17 seconds to play. Traylor knocked down a pair of free throws, and Gilliam went 1-for-2 from the line with five seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Next, SMC will return to Appalachian Athletic Conference play when it travels to face Montreat on Saturday at 2 p.m.