AIKEN, S.C. – Behind for most of the second half, the 15th-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team came out ahead when it mattered most, at the final buzzer of their homecoming contest, mounting a late rally past the Bobcats of Georgia College to claim a 46-43 victory in Peach Belt Conference action inside the Convocation Center Saturday evening.

With the win, the Pacers improve to 21-4 (13-2 PBC) while the Bobcats are now 15-6 (7-6 PBC).

Coming out of intermission down 24-21, the nationally-ranked Pacers could not get anything going in the way of offense for the first half of the second stanza, struggling to make shots fall.

Their first points of the second half came off two free throws by Kayla Harris (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) with almost eight full minutes already off the game clock.

USC Aiken's first field goal of the second period would not come until Harris drained a three-pointer with 9:21 remaining in regulation to pull the Pacers within five of the Bobcats.

USC Aiken was finally able to wrestle the lead away from Georgia College for good with just over two and a half minutes left on the clock as sophomore guard Daniela Tarailo sank a three-pointer garnering the Pacers a two-point lead.

Deandra Schirmer (Holton, Kan./Cloud County) put the Pacers up by four off two more free throws just a minute later, but Chimere Jordan was able to match her shot-for-shot with a pair of free throws of her own.

With time running out, the Bobcats had no choice but to foul Triahna Harris (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) and send her to the charity stripe with three ticks left on the game clock. Harris missed her first free throw but was able to knock down the second to give the Pacers the three-point victory.

Neither team shot well from the field in the contest as Georgia College recorded 39 total rebounds to USC Aiken's 34. The Pacers, however, were able to outscore the Bobcats off the bench 13-0 as only four Bobcats scored in their effort.

Jordan and Dominique Huffin led Georgia College with a game-high 18 points each. The duo accounted for all of the Bobcat's points up until eight minutes into the second half when Tammeisha Law tallied two of her four points off a layup.

Kayla Harris led the Pacers in scoring with 16 points to go along with six rebounds. Tarailo (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) was the only other Pacer to net double-digit points as she knocked down 11 points of her own.

USC Aiken now hits the road for a two-game road trip that spans two states before returning home for their final contest of the 2010-11 regular season. The Pacers will first head up to Pembroke, N.C. on Wednesday, Feb. 16 for a PBC doubleheader against the Braves of UNC Pembroke. The women will tipoff at 5:30 p.m. before the men take to the court shortly after the conclusion of that game at approximately 7:30 p.m.