Box Score GREENWOOD, S.C.--The first ever postseason meeting between a pair of long-time rivals lived up to its billing on Wednesday afternoon in the opening round of the 2006 Peach Belt Conference Women's Basketball Tournament at Horne Arena. Eighth-seed Augusta State (13-17) survived two shots by USC Aiken (11-17) inside the final two seconds to eek out a 53-52 win and advance to Thursday's quarterfinal match-up with top-seeded Clayton State. The ninth-seeded Lady Pacers end their season but look to the future as they return all nine players on the squad. (AVONTE WILLIAMS PICTURED)

"If you take this team without adding a single new player to it, I think we will be improved next year having gained the experience this year," said USCA head coach Mike Brandt in a postgame interview.

Fielding the youngest team in the league this year, the Lady Pacers saw its share of ups and downs behind the play of five freshmen and two sophomores. One of the ups was concluding the regular season on a three-game winning streak that included a win over ASU on February 20. 

USC Aiken created the game's first separation with an 8-1 run midway through the first half to pull out in front 20-11 with 7:54 remaining on a pair of free throws by Jordon Thomas. The Lady Pacers set a PBC Tournament record converting 14-of-14 at the line. 

Following a ASU timeout, however, the Lady Jaguars responded with a 15-5 run to close the half, taking a 28-25 advantage at the break on Jamica Wyatt's offensive putback with 1:05 on the clock. Wyatt had five of the team's 38 rebounds. 

After two buckets to open the second half by USC Aiken to reclaim the lead 29-28, Shirrell Ford connected on a jumper in the paint igniting a 12-4 run and giving Augusta State the 40-33 lead with 13:33 to play. Ford finished with a team-best 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go with six boards.
Eva Vodrazkova's offensive putback with 9:36 remaining gave the Lady Jags their largest lead of the game at 47-39. Mindy Allee then connected on the first of three-straight Lady Pacer treys to surge USCA back in front 48-47 with 7:22 on the clock. Sonya Jackson's lay-up on the ensuing possession would make the Lady Pacers' lead short-lived as ASU never trailed again. 

Allee finished with five points and a game-high seven assists while Vodrazkova added seven points and three blocks for Augusta State. 

Avonte Williams slashed to the hoop with 1:03 left to cut it to a one-point game at 53-52. Despite dramatics inside the final minute, no one would score again. 

Allee missed a contested three-pointer with 12 ticks left, but after a series of fouls on both teams, USC Aiken got the ball back following an offensive foul by Vodrazkova with 6.7 left. Having no timeouts left, the Lady Pacers got it in the hands of Allee, who drove the basket, put up a lay-up that rolled off the rim and Satu Leppanen's putback attempt was blocked by Ford as time expired. 

Williams led the Lady Pacers with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting while Leppanen chipped in 13 points and four rebounds. Meredith Legg also had double figures scoring 12 including 4-of-4 at the free throw line. The freshman finishes an amazing 49-of-50 at the line on the season. 

Augusta State connected on 22-of-57 from the field (38.6 percent) including 2-of-7 from beyond the arc (28.6 percent) and 7-of-16 at the line (43.8 percent). USC Aiken struggled to find their range inside the arc, shooting 16-of-48 (33.3 percent) but knocked down 6-of-14 from deep for 42.9 percent.
Newspaper Box Score
Augusta State vs USC Aiken
03/01/06 1:00 PM at Greenwood, S.C. (Horne Arena)

AUGUSTA STATE 53, USC AIKEN 52

USC AIKEN (11-17) 
Williams, Avonte 6-9 2-2 15; Leppanen, Satu 4-10 4-4 13; Legg, Meredith 3-6 4-4 12; Allee, Mindy 2-8 0-0 5; Starnes, Megan 1-3 0-0 3; Bennett, Nichole 0-5 2-2 2; Thomas, Jordon 0-6 2-2 2; Chandler, Kendra 0-1 0-0 0; Jones, Keirstin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-48 14-14 52. 

AUGUSTA STATE (13-17)
Ford, Shirrell 7-10 0-1 14; Paschal, Tracey 4-9 1-2 9; Paschal, Tiffany 2-7 5-10 9; Vodrazkova, Eva 3-7 0-0 7; Jackson, Sonya 2-6 1-2 5; Batovska, Alena 2-6 0-0 5; DeCoud, Lauren 1-8 0-0 2; Wyatt, Jamica 1-1 0-0 2; Robbins, Julie 0-3 0-1 0; Simpson, Doesshe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 7-16 53.

USC Aiken................... 25 27 - 52
Augusta State............ 28 25 - 53

3-point goals-USC Aiken 6-14 (Legg, Meredith 2-4; Allee, Mindy 1-3; Starnes, Megan 1-2; Williams, Avonte 1-2; Leppanen, Satu 1-1; Bennett, Nichole 0-0), Augusta State 2-7 (Batovska, Alena 1-3; Vodrazkova, Eva 1-1; DeCoud, Lauren 0-2; Robbins, Julie 0-1). Fouled out--USC Aiken-Williams, Avonte; Augusta State-Vodrazkova, Eva. Rebounds-USC Aiken 35 (Williams, Avonte 6), Augusta State 38 (Paschal, Tiffany 9). Assists-USC Aiken 14 (Allee, Mindy 7), Augusta State 10 (Batovska, Alena 5). Total fouls-USC Aiken 19, Augusta State 15. A-150.