AIKEN, S.C. – Down by as many as many as 16 at one point, the nationally 12th-ranked and second-seeded University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team persevered by going on an 18-0 run late in the second half to reclaim the lead and hold on until the final buzzer to defeat the third-seeded Francis Marion Patriots 71-66 Wednesday night in Peach Belt Conference Quarterfinal action at the Convocation Center.

The win over the Patriots (18-9) not only allows USC Aiken to advance into semifinal action on Saturday afternoon, it also lifts the 12th-ranked Pacers (25-4) into elite company. By garnering their 25th win of the season, the 2010-11 squad becomes the first women's basketball team to match the school's record for most wins in a single season in any division first set by the 1977-78 NAIA squad.

Prior to tip-off, USC Aiken recognized ninth-year head coach Mike Brandt for becoming the school's all-time win's leader with a 73-65 PBC victory over Armstrong Atlantic State at Alumni Arena. Brandt is now 165-103 as the head mentor of the Pacer women's basketball program. His 163rd win helped him surpass former USC Aiken women's basketball coach Gail Moody-Johnson who ended her 12-year career at USC Aiken (1986-98) with a record of 162-173.

USC Aiken led just once early in the first half, and would trail for the majority of the rest of the game. Francis Marion extended its lead at one point out to 16 points with 3:25 remaining in the opening stanza of play.

The Pacers were able to close the gap a tad, cutting the lead to 13 entering intermission after Kayla Harris nailed a jumper from just inside the free throw line to set the score at 45-32.
Francis Marion controlled most of the early going in the second half as USC Aiken attempted to slowly chip away at the deficit.

The Patriots hit the 60-point mark with two seconds over seven minutes remaining in regulation and held an 11-point lead, but that would be the last time they would score for five and a half minutes as the Pacers rattled off 18 unanswered points, recapturing the lead off a healthy dose of free-throws and layups. USC Aiken went a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe over the five and a half minutes.

Senior guard Nakia Pinkney hit two free-throws to tie the game at 60-all, and then swiped the ball away from Danelle Downs and sank a layup to give USC Aiken the lead with 3:55 left.

The Pacers would not relinquish the lead from there, only allowing Francis Marion to score six more points over the final three minutes. USC Aiken ended the final seven minutes on a 22-6 run to advance to the semifinal round of the 2011 PBC Tournament.

Three Pacers finished with double-digit points in the crucial win for USC Aiken with junior Hannah DeGraffinreed (Raleigh, N.C./Merrimack) going a perfect 7-for-7 from the field totaling 17 points in the contest. Daniela Tarailo (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) and Pinkney (Orangeburg, S.C./Orangeburg-Wilkinson) were not too far behind her as they tallied 15 and 13 points respectively.

Surprisingly, senior Triahna Harris (Springfield, Va./Springfield) led the Pacers with seven rebounds in the contest.

Courtney Mealing led all scorers with 23 points, including going an impressive 5-for-7 from beyond the three-point arc. Monica Mann chipped in 14 points of her own.

USC Aiken will look to play nationally-No. 1 and the PBC's first-seed in the West Division Clayton State on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Pacers and Lakers met once earlier this season with then No. 5 Clayton State pulling off a six-point (66-60) victory over USC Aiken on national television at the Convocation Center.