Box Score CHARLOTTE, NC--Senior guard Julie Szabo hit a three-point from the left corner with 2:52 to play in the first half to give her 1,001 career points as a USC Aiken Lady Pacer.  She had 11 of her 16 points in the first half as the Lady Pacers (9-3), ranked 20th in the latest ESPN/WBCA/USA Today Top 25 poll, turned a 36-24 halftime lead into a 63-46 win over Queens University of Charlotte (2-4) in non-conference women's basketball action at "The Oven" in Charlotte, NC.  

Coming off their tough overtime loss at Claflin just 24 hours ago, the Lady Pacers were sluggish out of the gate on Wednesday.  Britani Carter's four points in the paint helped Queens to a 10-4 lead to open the game.  But the Lady Pacers battled back to tie the game at 10-10 on a three-pointer by Sarah Kendrick.  She finished 5-of-6 from the field including 3-of-4 from the three-point line and 4-of-6 at the stripe for a career-high 17 points.  

As a team, the Lady Pacers lit up the Royals from deep connecting on 7-of-15 attempts for 46.7 percent.  

After building a 10-point edge at 20-10 with 9:20 left in the half, the Royals sliced the lead to four at 20-16.  USCA again distanced themselves, however, and capped off a strong half withKendrick's third triple just three seconds before the halftime buzzer, giving the Lady Pacers a 12-point lead at the break.  

In the second half, Queens opened strong with a 10-2 run to cut the lead to four with 13:50 to play.  Down the stretch, however, an intense and hungry Lady Pacer defense stymied the Royals and sparked the offense as USCA won going away.  

USCA rung up 15 steals led by Szabo's career-high six, forced 31 turnovers, out rebounded the Royals 37-29, and held Queens to 37.2 percent shooting from the field.  

Leslie Olson led the Royals with 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting but committed six turnovers in 33 minutes. Carter added nine points while Erin Scrutchinschipped in eight points, five rebounds, and four blocks in 25 minutes.      

Allison Nold added eight points and five rebounds for the Lady Pacers while Jami Cornwellrecorded seven points, four rebounds, four steals, and drew two charges.  

USC Aiken will now break for the holidays before resuming play in 2003.  Their first contest will be in Jefferson City, TN when they face Carson-Newman College on January 4 at 6:00 PM.  

SCORING:
#20 USC Aiken (63): Sarah Kendrick 17, Julie Szabo 16, Allison Nold 8, Jami Cornwell 7, Jen Kennedy 4, Erica Larsen 3, Katie Palizza 2, Sarah Liebelt 2, Mindy Allee 2, Katie Mitchell 2

Queens (46): Leslie Olson 10, Britani Carter 9, Erin Scrutchins 8, Sarah Newman 7, Shanaya Harris 5, Maggie Austin 4, Kellie Joplin 3