PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team put forth an outstanding effort in the 57-43 victory over Arkansas-Monticello at the West Florida Invitational Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 3-3 on the season.

Head coach Mike Brandt's team was paced by Mackenzie Reese's game-best 12 points. Amaura Brandt came off the bench to hit for nine markers while Stephanie Ball netted eight in 13 minutes of action.

Emry Tsitouris accounted for seven points and six rebounds while Mariah Durian also had seven. Kassy Johannsen filled up the stat sheet by posting seven points, six rebounds, six assists and four blocks.

Although USC Aiken trailed by a bucket just 1:58 into the game, it marked the largest lead for the designated home team. The Pacers led by as many as 16 and that was in part due to having a solid 20-11 edge in points off turnovers.

For the game, USC Aiken canned 23-of-52 shots from the floor (44.2 percent), including seven-of-21 from downtown (33.3 percent). Brandt's team out-rebounded the home squad 36-30, including a 12-10 edge on the offensive glass.

USC Aiken registered an outstanding 21 assists on 23 baskets.

Trailing 6-5, Tsitouris took a pass from Reese and converted an easy lay-up at the 12:19 mark for a one-point lead. Reese drained back-to-back shots for an 11-6 margin, but Arkansas-Monticello tied it with 9:22 to play in the opening stanza.

Johannsen's basket gave the Pacers a two-point lead and later she added a charity toss for a 14-11 score. Reese hit a three-pointer and Brandt connected from downtown for a 20-11 lead with 6:33 to play in the first half. Reese's old-fashioned three-point play made it 28-15 as USC Aiken cruised into intermission with a 28-17 advantage.

After seeing the lead trickle down to just eight, Tsitouris and Ball canned back-to-back shots for a 33-20 advantage with 16:12 to play in the game. USC Aiken's double-digit margin was trimmed to just six with 7:19 to play, but Kate Duff drilled a three-point shot, which sparked a 10-0 run for a 16-point lead. During the spurt, Ball hit a three-pointer, Duff made a lay-up and Durian nailed a jumper as Brandt's team did not let the home squad within 10 the rest of the way.  

The Pacers return to action Monday when they play at Erskine. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.