Box Score ORLANDO, FLA.--Despite a career night from senior Katie Gebhardt, the Lady Pacers' (0-1) upset bid of #4 Henderson State (1-0) fell short 63-56 on Friday night in the opening round of the Eighth Annual Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic. USCA rallied from a seven-point half-time deficit to take a 44-42 lead with 8:47 to play, but the Lady Reddies had too much firepower down the stretch. 

The eight-team event, widely considered the most prestigious Division II tournament aside from the NCAA Elite Eight, is being held at the Milk House Arena (5,000) on the complex of the Disney Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla. 

After trailing 28-21 at the break, Henderson State opened with a bucket on their first possession of the second half to take their largest lead 30-21. But Lana Mandic and Kasey Mills each scored four points in a 10-2 run to slice the margin to a single point at 32-31 with 16:40 to play. Mandic registered 10 points and three rebounds while Mills had seven points and a career-high tying eight boards. 

Three times Henderson State pushed the lead back to five, the last coming at 40-35 with 12:30 remaining. Gebhardt drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with 9:06 on the clock to cap a 7-2 run and tie the game at 42-42. In her first career start, the senior from Charlotte, N.C. had 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals in 30 minutes, her most complete game as a Lady Pacer. 

Mandic extended the Lady Pacer run to 9-2 on a bucket with 8:47 to play giving the Lady Pacers their first lead since 7-5 at 17:17 to play in the first half. Two missed shots and a pair of turnovers fueled an 8-2 Henderson State run as they regained the lead for good 48-44. 

Benazura Serbecic helped the Lady Pacers to a fast 7-3 start hitting her first three shots from the field. But three quick fouls in the opening four minutes saddled the 6-0 senior from Banovici, Bosnia for the rest of the half. She finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 3-of-3 at the stripe in just 16 minutes. 

Nola Grant had eight points and six rebounds in 17 minutes before fouling out in her USCA debut. Mindy Allee played a game-high 37 minutes scoring five points, grabbing a career-high seven rebounds, dishing out three assists and committing just one of the Lady Pacers 29 turnovers. 

USC Aiken out rebounded a Henderson State team that featured six players of 6-0 or more 38-37. Both teams shot less than 40.0 percent from the field while HSU connected on 20-of-28 at the free throw line (71.4 percent) and USCA was 10-of-13 (76.9 percent). 

USC Aiken will face Philadelphia University on Saturday, November 6 at 3:30 PM in the consolation bracket. 

SCORING:
USC Aiken (56): Katie Gebhardt 11, Benazura Serbecic 11, Lana Mandic 10, Nola Grant 8, Kasey Mills 7, Mindy Allee 5, Jordon Thomas 4

#4 Henderson State (63): Aesha Carter 19, Marquetia Thomas 11, Satoya Spates 9, Maggie Sauls 8, Saprina Reed 6, Julie Anderson 3, Stephanie Faulkner 3, Vangela Menter 2, LeVesha Holland 2.