Box Score JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.--Carson-Newman (6-0) overcame a 16-point first-half deficit and then another 10-point hole in the final 10 minutes to pull out a 73-70 overtime win over USC Aiken (9-4) in women's non-conference basketball on Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse. The first ever win in the series by the Lady Eagles snaps a seven-game winning streak by the Lady Pacers versus Division II teams. 

Benazura Serbecic scored 15 of her career-high 23 points in the first half. She finished 10-of-17 from the field and 3-of-5 at the line to go with 12 rebounds, her third double double of the season. Lana Mandic added 14 points while Mindy Allee chipped in 11. 

Trailing 5-4, USC Aiken rattled off 13 straight to pull ahead 23-7 with 8:39 left in the half on an Eboni Speller lay-up. Carson-Newman, however, held USC Aiken to just one field goal over the next seven minutes as a LaToya Davison jumper with 58.5 on the clock tied the game at 28-28. 

Serbecic hit a bucket on the ensuing possession and converted a pair of charity tosses with 6.5 ticks left to give USC Aiken a 32-28 lead at the break. 

Serbecic and Mandic combined for 24 of the Lady Pacers' 32 first half points on 10-of-16 shooting. The rest of the team was a chilly 2-of-13. 

After Brooke Johnson's free throw to open the second stanza, the Lady Pacers used an 11-2 spurt to grab another double-digit lead 43-33 on Kasey Mills jumper with 15:37 remaining. 

Maintaining about an eight-point edge over the next five minutes, two free throws by Allee with 9:55 to play marked the Lady Pacers' final double-digit advantage 52-42. As a team, USC Aiken converted its opportunities at the stripe 13-of-15 for 86.7 percent, but Carson-Newman attempted twice as many finishing 20-of-31 for 64.5 percent. 

With only three USCA field goals in the final 9:55 of regulation, the Lady Eagles battled back and tied the game at 54-54 on Brittaney Gooch's lay-up. Down by two with the basketball, Serbecic's jumper in the paint knotted the game for the eighth and final time in regulation 62-62 with 1:18 to play. 

After a pair of offsetting turnovers, Carson-Newman had the final possession of the second half. With the clock winding down, Gabrielle Smith's lay-up with 2.5 on the clock fell off the front iron and the teams headed for overtime. 

Mandic's lay-up 35 seconds into overtime gave USCA a two-point edge, but it would be their last of the contest. Mandic fouled out 15 seconds later and with her went USC Aiken's offensive presence. Gooch converted one of two free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining and the Lady Pacers' half court inbound pass was picked off to seal the win. 

Davison and Johnson led Carson-Newman each with 15 points. They combined to score 26 of those 30 points in the second stanza and overtime. Tiffany Parker added 13 points and 14 rebounds while 10 of Nicole Avrett's 11 off the bench came in the first half. 

Katie Gehbardt pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds.

Both teams shot nearly identical percentages from the field, 41.5 percent, and USC Aiken out rebounded the Lady Eagles 43-36, but Carson-Newman scored seven more at the charity stripe and the Lady Pacers committed 26 turnovers to CN's 19. 

USC Aiken will break for the holidays before closing out their non-conference schedule on January 2, 2005 at rival Presbyterian College at 2:00 PM.
Newspaper Box Score
USC Aiken vs Carson-Newman
12-15-04 6 p.m. at Jefferson City, Tenn./Holt Field House

CARSON-NEWMAN 73, USC AIKEN 70 (OT)

USC AIKEN (9-4)
Serbecic, Benazura 10-17 3-5 23; Mandic, Lana 6-10 2-2 15; Allee, Mindy 3-7 4-4 11; Mills, Kasey 3-10 2-2 8; Szabo, Beata 2-3 0-0 5; Gebhardt, Katie 1-10 2-2 4; Speller, Eboni 1-2 0-0 2; Grant, Nola 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 27-65 13-15 70.

CARSON-NEWMAN (6-0)
Johnson, Brooke 5-9 4-6 15; Davison, LaToya 6-11 2-3 15; Parker, Tiffany 5-8 3-6 13; Gooch, Brittaney 3-13 4-8 11; Avrett, Nicole 2-3 7-8 11; Cate, Amy 2-3 0-0 4; Smith, Gabrielle 1-5 0-0 2; Booker, Giovanni 1-3 0-0 2; Clark, Renita 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 20-31 73.

USC Aiken............................. 32 30 8 - 70
Carson-Newman................. 28 34 11 - 73

3-point goals-USC-Aiken 3-14 (Szabo, Beata 1-1; Allee, Mindy 1-2; Mandic, Lana 1-2; Gebhardt, Katie 0-6; Mills, Kasey 0-3), Carson-Newman 3-17 (Gooch, Brittaney 1-9; Davison, LaToya 1-1; Johnson, Brooke 1-2; Cate, Amy 0-1; Booker, Giovanni 0-1; Clark, Renita 0-3). Fouled out--USC-Aiken-Mandic, Lana, Carson-Newman-None. Rebounds-USC-Aiken 43 (Serbecic, Benazura 12), Carson-Newman 36 (Parker, Tiffany 14). Assists-USC-Aiken 9 (Szabo, Beata 3; Allee, Mindy 3), Carson-Newman 17 (Gooch, Brittaney 4). Total fouls-USC-Aiken 24, Carson-Newman 18. A-304
Boxscore