GREENWOOD, S.C. – The 17th-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team was unable to knock national No. 1 Lander at Horne Arena, falling 78-56 to the Bearcats in Peach Belt Conference action on Saturday afternoon.

The loss dropped the Pacers to 16-4 (8-2 PBC). Lander remained perfect in 2010-11 with the victory, moving to 19-0 (9-0 PBC).

The Pacers via a strong inside presence opened the game on a 10-4 run. The early Pacer spurt included six points from Hannah DeGraffinreed (Raleigh, N.C./Merrimack). USC Aiken's early run forced Lander head coach Kevin Pederson into a 30 second time out with 16:05 remaining in the first half of play.

A little while later the Pacer advantage was seven points at 14-7, but a 7-0 run by Lander had evened the game at 14-14 with 10:35 to go until intermission.

Lander's run continued to escalate throughout the rest of the half with the Bearcats using a 22-6 run to own a nine-point lead at 29-20 with a little over two minutes left in the first half.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Brittni Johnson in the final seconds of the first half would eventually lead to Lander clinging to a 13-point 35-22 lead at the halftime break.

Lander commenced the second half on a 17-8 run with the Bearcats owning a 22-point lead with 13 minutes to play in the final half of action.

In the end, USC Aiken would be unable to overcome the strong first half ending run by the Bearcats in its loss.

USC Aiken finished the loss shooting 39.7 percent (23-for-58) as a team. Lander shot 44.9 percent (31-for-69) in its win.

Three Pacers finished in double figures with Kayla Harris (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) and Tiffani Moody (Raleigh, N.C./Ohio Valley) both leading USC Aiken with 13 points each. Daniela Tarailo (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) was the other Pacer in double digits with 10 points.

Moody was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor en route to her career-high 13 points. She also had eight boards and three blocks.

Harris also had eight rebounds in addition to her 13 points. She was 6-for-13 from the floor.

Three Bearcats secured double-doubles in the battle of top 20 programs. Shannon McKever (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Tasheba Butler (13 points, 11 rebounds) both obtained their double-doubles with points and rebounds, while Lander's Mukia Myrick dished out 10 assists to go along with her 10 points to acquire her double-double.

Lander's Johnson was the final player in double figures, leading all scorers with 18 points. She was 7-for-9 from the field in the contest.

USC Aiken will next travel to Augusta, Ga. for a game against rival Augusta State at Christenberry Fieldhouse. Tip-off between USC Aiken and Augusta State is set for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 24.

The contest is the first game of a PBC men's and women's basketball twinbill in Augusta with the USC Aiken men scheduled to take on the third-ranked Augusta State men immediately following the women's game at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Both of the games will be able to be followed live on USC Aiken's official athletic website at www.PacerSports.com.