Box Score AIKEN, S.C.--USC Aiken (17-9, 7-5 PBC) bounced back from Wednesday's buzzer-beating loss at Augusta State to knock off Lander (11-11, 6-6 PBC) 67-58 and regain the lead in the North Division standings on Saturday night in women's Peach Belt Conference basketball. The Lady Pacers, now 12-1 at home, downed the defending PBC champs for the seventh time in the last nine meetings. 

USCA has met Lander more than any other foe and leads the series by a slim 30-28 margin. The win was the 50th for head coach Mike Brandt at USC Aiken. 

Kasey Mills was an amazing 18-of-19 at the free throw line including a perfect 12-of-12 in the second half for a career-high tying 25 points. The 18 made free throws breaks Jami Cornwell's single game mark of 15 set on December 2, 2000 in a game versus Wingate. 

In addition, the senior guard from Provo, Utah moved into seventh place on the school's NCAA career scoring list with 651 points. She was 1-of-4 from the three-point line to move her into fourth place in career threes made (78) and her three steals on the evening rocketed her past Christale Spain into fifth all-time in that category (146). 

The first half witnessed tight play throughout with seven ties and five lead changes. Knotted up 23-23 with 5:43 left, the Lady Pacers' defense held the Lady Bearcats to 0-of-7 from the field and closed the half on an 7-1 run to lead 29-24 at the break. Mills poured in 13 of her 25 in the opening stanza. 

Trailing by the same margin as at the break, 39-34, Lander went on an 8-0 run to regain the lead 42-39 on Natasha Hemphill's fast break lay-up with 12:19 remaining. But the Lady Pacers countered with a 6-0 spurt capped by Nola Grant's transition bucket to go back on top 45-42 just 55 seconds later. 

Jacquay White's lay-up with 6:08 to play got the Lady Bearcats within 51-50, but USC Aiken never relinquished the lead. USCA was nearly flawless at the line in the final five minutes connecting on 12-of-14. 

White and Hemphill each posted double doubles for Lander. White had 11 points and 14 rebounds while Hemphill poured in a team-high 18 points to go with 10 boards. 

Benazura Serbecic recorded her team-leading fifth double double with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go with 14 rebounds. Lana Mandic added 10 points on 5-of-8 from the field while Grant turned in an outstanding all-around game with eight points, nine boards, a team-high six assists, and a career-best five blocked shots. 

As a team, USC Aiken swatted a season-high nine shots. The Lady Pacers won the battle of the boards 48-42 thanks to a 26-18 margin in the second half. 

Lander struggled from the field all night shooting just 28.4 percent including 2-of-16 from downtown (12.5 percent) and 14-of-23 at the line (60.9 percent). 

USCA also shot poorly from the field at 37.3 percent, but their 28-of-32 performance at the stripe (87.5 percent) was their best of the season. 

USC Aiken will play at USC Upstate on Wednesday, February 16 at 5:30 PM while Lander returns home to host Francis Marion also at 5:30 PM.
Newspaper Box Score
Lander vs USC Aiken
02/12/05 5:30 p.m. at Aiken, S.C. (The Courthouse)

USC AIKEN 67, LANDER 58

LANDER (11-11, 6-6 PBC)
Hemphill, Natasha 7-17 2-2 18; White, Jacquay 5-13 1-1 11; Johnson, Ashley 2-10 5-7 9; Jacobs, Tracy 2-15 4-8 8; Thomas, Keunna 2-7 1-3 5; Sikes, Shelby 2-4 0-0 4; Dubose, Lashaundra 1-5 1-2 3; Nyikavaranda, Tara 0-2 0-0 0; Hukill, Jennifer 0-1 0-0 0; Williams, Janet 0-0 0-0 0; Caver, Amy 0-0 0-0 0; Lee, Chinessia 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-74 14-23 58.

USC AIKEN (17-9, 7-5 PBC)
Mills, Kasey 3-8 18-19 25; Serbecic, Benazura 6-10 3-4 15; Mandic, Lana 5-8 0-0 10; Grant, Nola 4-13 0-0 8; Allee, Mindy 0-2 5-6 5; Gebhardt, Katie 1-7 2-3 4; Sumter, Shannon 0-0 0-0 0; Speller, Eboni 0-3 0-0 0; Szabo, Beata 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-51 28-32 67.

Lander........................... 24 34 - 58
USC Aiken..................... 29 38 - 67

3-point goals-Lander 2-16 (Hemphill, Natasha 2-6; Johnson, Ashley 0-3; Jacobs, Tracy 0-3; Thomas, Keunna 0-2; Dubose, Lashaundra 0-1; Hukill, Jennifer 0-1), USC Aiken 1-10 (Mills, Kasey 1-4; Mandic, Lana 0-2; Allee, Mindy 0-1; Gebhardt, Katie 0-1; Speller, Eboni 0-2). Fouled out--Lander-None, USC Aiken-None. Rebounds-Lander 42 (White, Jacquay 14), USC Aiken 48 (Serbecic, Benazura 14). Assists-Lander 9 (Hemphill, Natasha 4), USC Aiken 14 (Grant, Nola 6). Total fouls-Lander 23, USC Aiken 20. A-1356.