Box Score PEMBROKE, N.C.--
Lana Mandic and
Kasey Mills led a Lady Pacer three-point barrage as USC Aiken (12-4, 2-0 PBC) rolled to a 70-48 win over UNC Pembroke (8-6, 0-3 PBC) on Wednesday night in a Peach Belt Conference North Division showdown at the Jones Athletic Center. Mandic finished with a game-high 16 points while Mills added 10. USCA defeated the Lady Braves for the 10th-straight time improving to 21-8 in the all-time series.
Seeing their first action in a week after Saturday's home game with Kennesaw State was postponed due to the deadly train crash and chemical spill just three miles from USC Aiken's campus, the Lady Pacers showed no signs of rust canning a season-high 12 three-pointers on 21 attempts for a scorching 57.1 percent. USCA is off to a 2-0 start in conference play for the first time since 2001-02, a team that posted a 16-3 PBC mark en route to capturing the program's second PBC regular season title.
In a match-up that featured the top two shooting teams in the league, USCA's smothering defense shut down the Lady Braves holding them to 38.6 percent from the field. UNC Pembroke entered the game as the third best three-point shooting team in Division II, but managed only a 4-of-16 night, well below their 40.6 percent average.
The Lady Braves opened strong grabbing a 7-4 lead on Sharkeysha Midgette's jumper, but back-to-back treys by Mills put the Lady Pacers in front 10-7 giving them a lead they would never hand back.
Julia Ayers drew UNCP within a single possession with 11:53 left until half on her only field goal of the game, but three consecutive USCA triples ignited a 13-4 run as the Lady Pacers charged ahead 30-18 with 7:00 remaining. Mandic,
Beata Szabo, and
Mindy Allee each drained a long ball.
UNC Pembroke trimmed the margin to 32-28 on a Danielle Richardson free throw, but the Lady Pacers closed on a 7-3 spurt to lead 39-31 at the break.
A 14-4 run midway through the second half blew the game open.
Eboni Speller's three-pointer with 6:11 on the clock capped the run as USCA took its largest lead of the game 65-43. Speller finished 5-of-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from deep for 12 points.
After scoring 13 points in the opening stanza, Lindsay Bartholf scored her only field goal of the second half with 3:47 to play. The nation's top three-point shooter, 51.9 percent, finished 5-of-13 from the field including 3-of-9 from the three-point line for 16 points. Richardson added 10 points and seven boards.
Mandic was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc for 16 points to go with five rebounds. Mills connected on 3-of-5 from downtown for 10 points.
Nola Grant added nine points and six boards while
Benazura Serbecic just missed her fourth double double with eight points and 10 rebounds. Allee dished out six of the team's 19 assists to go with six points and four rebounds.
USC Aiken out rebounded their opponent, 37-24, for the 13th time in 16 games this season. The Lady Pacers also forced 18 turnovers while committing 13 miscues.
USC Aiken, now 35-8 versus divisional foes over the past five years, will travel to Columbus, Ga. to face Columbus State on Saturday, January 15 at 1:00 PM in a Peach Belt Conference cross-divisional match-up.
Newspaper Box Score
USC Aiken vs UNC Pembroke
01/12/05 5:30 p.m. at Pembroke, NC (Jones Center)
USC AIKEN 70, UNC PEMBROKE 48
USC AIKEN (12-4, 2-0)
Mandic, Lana 6-12 0-0 16; Speller, Eboni 5-6 0-0 12; Mills, Kasey 3-6 1-2 10; Grant, Nola 4-9 1-2 9; Serbecic, Benazura 3-10 2-2 8; Allee, Mindy 2-6 0-0 6; Szabo, Beata 2-4 0-0 5; Gebhardt, Katie 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 27-58 4-6 70.
UNC PEMBROKE (8-6, 0-3)
Bartholf, Lindsay 5-13 3-4 16; Richardson, Danielle 4-9 2-4 10; Vaughan, Kristin 2-7 3-4 7; Willis, Victoria 2-5 0-0 5; Midgette, Sharkeysha 2-3 0-0 4; Lightfoot, Tracey 0-1 2-2 2; Wright, Tiffany 1-3 0-0 2; Ayers, Julia 1-2 0-0 2; Savage, Melina 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-44 10-14 48.
USC Aiken....................... 39 31 - 70
UNC Pembroke.............. 31 17 - 48
3-point goals-USC Aiken 12-21 (Mandic, Lana 4-6; Mills, Kasey 3-5; Speller, Eboni 2-3; Allee, Mindy 2-3; Szabo, Beata 1-3; Gebhardt, Katie 0-1), UNC Pembroke 4-16 (Bartholf, Lindsay 3-9; Willis, Victoria 1-3; Lightfoot, Tracey 0-1; Wright, Tiffany 0-2; Savage, Melina 0-1). Fouled out--USC Aiken-None, UNC Pembroke-None. Rebounds-USC Aiken 37 (Serbecic, Benazura 10), UNC Pembroke 24 (Richardson, Danielle 7). Assists-USC Aiken 19 (Allee, Mindy 6), UNC Pembroke 12 (Lightfoot, Tracey 7). Total fouls-USC Aiken 9, UNC Pembroke 9. A-199.
