Box Score AUGUSTA, Ga. - The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team extended their undefeated start to the 2009-10 season with a 56-44 victory over North Greenville on Saturday afternoon at the Lady Jaguar Tip-Off Classic.
The Pacers are now a perfect 3-0 this season after opening last season with a 6-0 start.
The Pacer victory featured sophomore transfer
Hannah DeGraffinreed's (Raleigh, N.C. Merrimack College) third straight double-double performance. The 5-foot-10 forward led all scorers with 17 points and finished with a team-high 10 rebounds in 34 minutes of work.
Degraffinreed's efforts over the weekend did not go unnoticed as she was awarded as the Tip-Off Classic Most Valuable Player.
USC Aiken dominated North Greenville inside during the opening twenty minutes, outscoring the Crusaders 20-6 in the paint and taking the edge in rebounding 20-11.
The Pacers hit 12-of-26 field goal attempts in the first half and led by as many as seven before heading into halftime with a 28-23 lead.
???????Degraffinreed continued to impress in her inaugural season as a Pacer by leading all scorers in the first stanza with 10 points while grabbing 3 rebounds.
North Greenville stormed back with a 12-3 run over the opening 5:49 of the second half to take a 35-31 lead at the first media timeout of the second stanza.
The Pacers regrouped after the timeout as
Deandra Schirmer (Holton, Kan./Cloud County CC) converted a three-point play by beating two North Greenville defenders in the paint for a lay-up while being fouled and hitting the subsequent free-throw.
USC Aiken locked down the Crusader attack and retook the lead, 36-35, on a bucket from
Triahna Harris (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) at the 12:32 mark.
After another strong defensive effort the Pacers came down the floor and
Nakia Pinkney (Orangeburg, S.C./Orangeburg-Wilkinson) floated a three-point basket home from the left corner of the court to give USC Aiken a 39-35 advantage with 10:32 remaining.
North Greenville fought back once again, drawing the contest even at 41-41 with eight minutes remaining.
The two teams traded defensive stops until Harris gave the Pacers the lead once again, 42-41, at the 5:34 mark with a clutch free throw.
North Greenville came down the court and converted a lay-up to put the Pacers behind 43-42, but Degraffinreed responded with another bucket in the paint, giving USC Aiken a 44-43 lead with 4:37 to play.
Harris hit another clutch free-throw and Schirmer refused to be denied inside with a strong basket in the paint to put the Pacers up 47-43 at the 3:49 mark.
USC Aiken's strong defensive efforts were rewarded when Pinkney drained a pull-up jumper from just outside the lane extending the Pacers advantage to 49-43.
With 1:09 remaining the Pacers were still up 49-44 when Pinkney calmly completed a perfect trip to the free throw line, hitting both free throws and icing the game with USC Aiken leading 51-44.
Catherine Cain's (Dayton, Ohio/Ohio University) lay-up with 39 seconds left put the game out of reach as the Pacers rolled to the 56-44 victory.
???????Pinkney finished with 11 points and seven rebounds to go with an assist and a steal as she was named to the Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team.
The Pacers will play the final contest of their four-game regular season-opening road trip on Tuesday Nov. 24 against Lenoir-Rhyne at 5:30 p.m. in Hickory, N.C. Lenoir-Rhyne will offer live stats and a live audio webcast. Both links can be accessed by visiting the women's basketball schedule or the main upcoming schedule at www.PacerSports.com.
???????USC Aiken will then host Wingate for their home-opener in the Convocation Center at 6 p.m. on Monday Nov. 30. Live stats and a live webcasts will be available for Pacer fans who are unable to attend the game. The live stats and webcasts can be accessed for free by clicking on the live stats link and the video links at www.pacersports.com.
