Box Score AIKEN, SC--The 17th ranked USC Aiken Lady Pacers (7-2, 1-1 PBC) weathered an early storm by a feisty UNC Pembroke team (2-3, 0-2 PBC) to post a 66-49 win in their Peach Belt Conference home opener on Wednedsay night at "The Courthouse".  Senior Allison Nold continued her hot play with 16 points and eight rebounds as USCA extended their home court winning streak to 17 games.  

After leading 6-5 at 16:55, the Lady Pacers found themselves behind 11-6 thanks to a scoring drought of 3:31.  Julie Szabo's free throws at 13:24 finally ended the dry spell and made it 11-7.  UNC Pembroke, however, pushed their advantage to seven at 19-12 with 9:50 remaining on a three-pointer from Katie Marsh.  The senior guard finished with 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting.  

USC Aiken battled back, eventually tying the game at 20-20 on two free throws from Erica Larsen and then again at 26-26 with 3:47 to play in the half.  But a 9-2 run to end the half by the Lady Pacers set the score at 35-28 at the break.  Larsen had six points over that stretch.  She scored all 10 of her points in the first half.  

The Lady Pacers shot 54.5 percent in the opening period on 12-of-22 shooting, but were 0-of-4 from behind the three-point line.  

Senior Jen Kennedy opened the second half with a three-pointer, the Lady Pacers' only one of the game, to spark a 9-0 run and extend the lead to double digits for the first time in the game.   

A triple by the Lady Braves' Ebony Orr cut the lead back to single digits at 51-44 with 8:15 to play, but that was as close as UNCP would get.  USCA sprinted to a 60-44 lead with 6:11 to play on a Kennedy transition lay-up off a nice entry pass from Szabo.  Highlighting the run were two put back buckets by Nold.  She was 7-of-10 on the night and is 20-of-30 (66.7 percent) from the field averaging 11.2 ppg over her last four games.  

Jami Cornwell was the third Lady Pacer in double figures with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go with seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.  Kennedy finished with nine points and seven rebounds while Szabo and Sarah Kendrick each added six points.  Katie Mitchell and Sarah Liebelt chipped in five and three points respectively off the bench.  

Orr's 16 points tied Nold for game-high honors and led the Lady Braves.  She finished 7-of-20 from the field to go with six rebounds and three steals in 37 minutes.  Lauren Thigpen added nine points while Jameka Dixon was the game's leading rebounder pulling down 12 boards and scoring eight points in the losing effort.  

For the fourth straight game, the Lady Pacers held a team to less than 54 points.  UNC Pembroke  shot just 28.3 percent from the field (17-of-60) and 23.5 percent from behind the arc (4-of-17).  At the stripe, they were 11-of-17 for 64.7 percent.  

USC Aiken connected on 43.1 percent of its attempts (25-of-58), but struggled from deep, making only 1-of-10 shots (10.0 percent).  They were 15-of-21 at the line for 71.4 percent.  USCA also posted a 46-34 advantage on the glass.

The Lady Pacers won their 15th straight home conference game, their fifth straight over UNC Pembroke, and have posted wins in 20 of their last 22 Divisional games.  

USC Aiken will have a 10-day layoff as they prepare for final exams.  On December 14, the Lady Pacers will travel to Kennesaw, GA for a big PBC showdown with Kennesaw State, the coaches poll preseason conference favorite, at 2:00 PM.  

SCORING:
UNC Pembroke (49): Ebony Orr 16, Katie Marsh 10, Lauren Thigpen 9, Jameka Dixon 8, Rebecca Norris 3, Brittney Gaddy 2, Tiffany Wright 1

#17 USC Aiken (66): Allison Nold 16, Jami Cornwell 11, Erica Larsen 10, Jen Kennedy 9, Sarah Kendrick 6, Julie Szabo 6, Katie Mitchell 5, Sarah Liebelt 3