Box Score AUGUSTA, Ga. – The 17th-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team held off rival Augusta State in a 59-48 Peach Belt Conference victory on Monday evening at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
USC Aiken with the win improved to 17-4 overall. The Pacers are now 9-2 in the PBC in 2010-11. Augusta State dropped to 6-10 (0-8 PBC).
USC Aiken opened the game on an 8-2 run. The Pacers held Augusta State without a field goal for the first 4:30 of the contest with both of the Jaguars' points early in the game coming from the free throw line.
The USC Aiken lead had ballooned to 11 at 18-7 after a Lindsay Sundberg (Mansfield, Conn./E.O. Smith) three-point from the left side with a little over 10 minutes left in the first half of play.
Augusta State would close the half on a 15-9 run to cut the Pacer lead down to five points at 27-22 by intermission.
The Jaguars commenced the second half on a 5-1 spurt to pull themselves back within one in the contest at 28-27 with 18:40 remaining in the contest. A couple minutes later, Augusta State had its first lead of the game at 29-28 after a Waneta Carlisle lay-up.
USC Aiken would then score four straight points to take a three-point lead, but Augusta State's Eryka Menzies would hit a three-pointer with 15:15 left in the game to even the score once again at 32-32.
By the 10:36 mark it was still an even game at 39-39, but five straight points by USC Aiken capped off by a Tiffani Moody (Raleigh, N.C./Ohio Valley) lay-up off an assist from Triahna Harris (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) had pulled the Pacers ahead at 44-39 with 7:40 left on the game clock in the second stanza.
The game would remain close the rest of the way, but in the end USC Aiken would never look back in its 11-point win over Augusta State.
The Pacers finished the contest shooting 33.3 percent (19 for 57) as a team. Augusta State concluded the contest taking 16 less shots, but shooting 39 percent (16 for 41).
Three Pacers finished in double figures with Deandra Schirmer (Holton, Kan./Cloud County CC) leading the way with 14 points. DeGraffinreed was right behind Schirmer with 13 points.
Harris was the final Pacer in double figures with 11.
The Jaguars had two players record double figures in the loss with Blaire Egardo and Menzies both finishing with 11.
The 17th-ranked USC Aiken women will next play host to Augusta State at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Feb. 2. The contest is the first game of a Peach Belt Conference men's and women's basketball doubleheader at the Convocation Center with the USC Aiken men scheduled to take on the third-ranked Jaguar 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.
