COLUMBUS, Ga. – Peach Belt Conference East Division top-seeded USC Aiken picked up a hard fought 63-55 Peach Belt Conference Tournament quarterfinal victory over Montevallo on Thursday evening at the Frank G. Lumpkin Center on the campus of Columbus State University.

Nationally ninth-ranked USC Aiken (24-3) with the win advances to the semifinals of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament where they will face off against PBC East No. 3 UNC Pembroke at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 3.

A trio of Pacers finished in double figures in the win over Montevallo (11-16).

USC Aiken's Kayla Harris (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield HS) led all players in the game with 25 points, eight rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist. The First-Team All-Conference performer hit 10 of her 15 shot attempts in Thursday's Pacer victory.

First-Team All-Peach Belt Conference selection Hannah DeGraffinreed (Raleigh, N.C./Merrimack College) concluded the Pacer win with 12 points.

Brittany Hill (Mechanicsville, Va./Quinnipiac) was the final Pacer in double figures with 10 points. She also had six rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.

Taylor Beverly guided the Falcon attack in their loss to the Pacers with 24 points. She hit 11 of her 14 shot attempts in the contest.

USC Aiken finished the contest hitting 41.5 percent (22-for-53) of its shots as a team. Montevallo shot 52.2 percent (24-for-46) as a team in its loss.

Montevallo opened the game on a 4-0 run. The Pacers then proceeded to go on a 14-3 run to own a 14-7 lead with 10:13 remaining in the first stanza.

USC Aiken would hold the lead the rest of the half, entering intermission with a 26-23 lead.

The Pacers would go ahead by as many as 10 in the second half before emerging with the eight-point win.

Postgame Press Conference - Click Link to Access