Box Score AIKEN, S.C. – The 25th-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team celebrated its first national ranking of the 2010-11 season by easily besting perennial region power Shaw, 76-54, on Tuesday evening at the Convocation Center.
The nationally-ranked Pacers won their season-best fifth consecutive game against Shaw to improve to 10-2 overall on the year. Shaw, which has received votes in the Division II women's basketball poll this season, dropped to 4-2 overall with the loss to the Pacers.
The victory was also special in that it was USC Aiken head coach Mike Brandt's 150th in charge of the Pacer program. Brandt is now 150-101 in nine seasons as the Pacer mentor. Brandt claimed his 400th career victory earlier this season. He is now 403-230 in 21 seasons as a college head coach.
The outcome of Tuesday's contest was never in doubt with the Pacers leading from start-to-finish. The Pacers entered the halftime break with a 45-17 lead.
Shaw would play much better in the second stanza, but USC Aiken's offensive prowess in the first half would still leave the Pacers clinging to a 22-point victory at the end of the game.
Three Pacers finished in double figures in Tuesday's win with Nakia Pinkney (Orangeburg, S.C./Orangeburg-Wilkinson) leading the way with 16 total points. She was 5-for-11 from the floor en route to the 16 points.
Daniela Tarailo (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) provided the spark off the bench in the game for the Pacers, hitting three 3-pointers. Tarailo finished the game with 15 total points. She also had five rebounds.
Hannah DeGraffinreed (Raleigh, N.C./Merrimack) ended her evening with 12 points and six rebounds.
Tiffani Moody (Raleigh, N.C./Ohio Valley) did not score in double figures, but she did manage a career-best five blocks in the win over Shaw.
Pacer floor general Triahna Harris (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) just missed out on a career-high in assists in the Shaw win. Harris dealt nine assists to fall just shy of the ten she acquired in a win over Flagler on Feb. 8, 2010.
Shaw only had one player in double figures with Kyria Buford collecting 17 points.
USC Aiken will next hit the road for a 2 p.m. contest with defending South Atlantic Conference champion Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, N.C. It will mark the second meeting between the Pacers and the Bears this season with USC Aiken downing Lenoir-Rhyne, 70-41, at the Convocation Center on Nov. 29.
The game will be able to be followed live on USC Aiken's official athletic website at www.PacerSports.com.
