Box Score COLUMBUS, Ga.--The USC Aiken women's basketball team shocked the Lady Cougars tonight in a 75-66 upset at the Lumpkin Center. The young Lady Pacer squad dominated the preseason favorites in a huge conference win and marked a big victory in USC Aiken women's basketball history. 

Until tonight, the Lady Pacers hadn't won in Columbus since 1993 and had never tabbed a win in the Lumpkin Center, since opening in 2000. The win tonight snaps a six-game losing streak against the Lady Cougars, who had won the last 20 of 22 meetings between the two teams. 

With three USCA players tabbing career nights, the Lady Pacers snap a two-game season losing streak and end CSU's four-game win streak. Coming off a tough PBC loss to Armstrong Atlantic, the Lady Pacers showed strength and speed on the court and ability to make a presence inside, even against the best rebounding team in the PBC.

Freshman standout Meredith Legg posted her career best, knocking down 20 points and adding eight rebounds. At 15:48 on the game clock, Legg steals the ball and converts it down court with a three-point basket. The basket kicks off a 10-0 run by the Lady Pacers, giving them a 21-10 advantage with just over 11 minutes remaining in the half.

Columbus State quickly gets back into a groove and climbs their ways back up, tying the game at 32-all with 3:33 on the clock. Just as it looked as though the Lady Pacers lost the momentum, a jumper by Megan Starnes again sends USCA on another offensive run (13-4), giving them the 45-36 advantage before heading to the locker room at half time.
As the second-half opened up, the Lady Cougars slowly edged back up onto the Lady Pacer squad, getting within two at 8:40 on the clock. After a quick time out, USCA gets back on the court and Legg feeds the ball to Leppanen who knocks down a huge three, giving the Lady Pacers a boost and going on a 10-0 run over the next four minutes of play. With the momentum with the Lady Pacer bench, Columbus State would never get within eight for the remainder of the game and gets its first conference loss of the season.

Adding to the efforts of a tough USC Aiken team was Satu Leppanen who led the team with 21 points, giving her a career-high night. Sophomore center Jordon Thomas also saw a career-high with nine points, including shooting 3-of-4 from the line.

USC Aiken had a stellar night from the charity stripe, hitting a season high 90 percent (27-of-30). Both Legg and junior Mindy Allee were perfect from the line, shooting 8-of-8 and 4-of-4, respectively. Allee has hit 22 straight charity stripe buckets and Legg is on a streak of 14.

Columbus State shot 32 percent from the field, lead by five different players who posted double figures.

The Lady Pacers will host Clayton State this Saturday, January 7, at 5:30 p.m. Columbus State will host Augusta State on Saturday with game time scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Newspaper Box Score
USC Aiken vs. Columbus State
01/04/06 5:30 PM at Columbus, GA...Lumpkin Center
At Columbus, GA...Lumpkin Center

USC AIKEN 78, COLUMBUS STATE 66

USC AIKEN (5-5, 1-2 PBC)
Leppanen, Satu 6-8 6-8 21; Legg, Meredith 5-11 8-8 20; Starnes, Megan 5-13 0-0 11; Thomas, Jordon 3-6 3-4 9; Allee, Mindy 2-4 4-4 9; Williams, Avonte 1-2 4-4 6; Bennett, Nichole 0-1 2-2 2; Jones, Keirstin 0-3 0-0 0; Chandler, Kendra 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 27-30 78.
COLUMBUS STATE (8-5, 1-2 PBC)
Jones, Erica 5-15 2-2 13; Walker, Cherwonna 3-5 6-8 12; Greene, Marquita 5-12 0-0 11; Hardeman, Shanrika 4-8 2-3 10; Allen, LaShonda 4-5 2-3 10; Taylor, Tabasha 3-14 0-0 6; Pierce, Charla 1-2 0-0 2; Gibbs, Erin 0-1 2-2 2; Ellison, Alexandria 0-0 0-0 0; Bosia, Abena 0-2 0-0 0; Kemp, Jolyn 0-1 0-0 0; Pulici, Karina 0-12 0-0 0. Totals 25-77 14-18 66.

USC Aiken..................... 45 33 - 78
Columbus State........... 36 30 - 66

3-point goals-USC Aiken 7-18 (Leppanen, Satu 3-4; Legg, Meredith 2-5; Starnes, Megan 1-3; Allee, Mindy 1-2; Jones, Keirstin 0-1; Bennett, Nichole 0-1; Thomas, Jordon 0-2), Columbus State 2-21 (Jones, Erica 1-3; Greene, Marquita 1-5; Pierce, Charla 0-1; Bosia, Abena 0-1; Pulici, Karina 0-11). Fouled out--USC Aiken-None, Columbus State-None. Rebounds-USC Aiken 38 (Legg, Meredith 8), Columbus State 44 (Hardeman, Shanrika 13). Assists-USC Aiken 13 (Allee, Mindy 3; Legg, Meredith 3), Columbus State 7 (Greene, Marquita 2; Walker, Cherwonna 2; Pulici, Karina 2). Total fouls-USC Aiken 16, Columbus State 21. A-312