Box Score AIKEN, S.C. – The nationally 13th-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team garnered a thrilling 57-53 Peach Belt Conference victory over national No. 18 Lander on Saturday evening at the Convocation Center.
The contest was part of USC Aiken's Homecoming celebration.
The Pacer win over Lander (19-5, 14-2 PBC) was its second victory over Lander in the last 10 days. Both teams have been ranked inside the top-20 nationally in both meetings.
The win moves the two schools even with each other at 14-2 in the Peach Belt Conference East Division standings. USC Aiken (21-3, 14-2 PBC) will hold the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed in the division via their two victories over the Bearcats.
Three Pacers finished in double figures in the win over Lander on Saturday evening with Kayla Harris (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield HS) leading the way with 16 points.
Hannah DeGraffinreed (Raleigh, N.C./Merrimack College) was right behind her with 15 points and seven rebounds. DeGraffinreed was 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the game.
Daniela Tarailo (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point HS) was the final Pacer in double figures with 11 points. She was 5-for-7 from the field on Saturday evening.
Brittany Hill (Mechanicsville, Va./Quinnipiac) flirted with a triple-double in the Pacer win over Lander with eight points, six rebounds and six assists. She also had two steals and a block.
Brittni Johnson led three Bearcats in double figures with 12 points.
USC Aiken as a team concluded Saturday's victory shooting 38.5 percent (20-for-52). The Bearcats shot 37.9 percent (22-for-58) as a team.
As one would expect, the four-point victory did not come easy for the Pacers as the score was tied nine times. The lead changed hands in the game nine times as well.
The score was tied at 52-all with under two minutes to play in the contest. USC Aiken would score five of the last six points in the game to secure the win.
USC Aiken will next welcome Francis Marion to the Convocation Center for a 5:30 p.m. game on Wednesday, Feb. 22. USC Aiken's final home game of the year will serve as Senior Day for the Pacers.
