AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team used a late run in overtime to knock off Francis Marion by a score of 74-70 Saturday evening on Homecoming.

The Pacers are now 12-7 overall, including an 8-2 effort against conference competition. The Patriots are 6-13 on the year and fall to 3-7 against league foes.

Leading the way for head coach Mike Brandt's team was rookie Emry Tsitouris, who poured in a game-high 17 points while grabbing six rebounds. Amaura Brandt netted 12 points and grabbed nine boards while Kassy Johannsen hit for 12 markers and swatted away eight shots in the contest. Carly Gilreath contributed 12 points as well. Mackenzie Reese totaled seven points, but grabbed 10 rebounds while dishing out a game-high six assists.

Defensively, Stephanie Ball recoreded a game-best four steals while Kate Duff added three thefts.

Leading by four points with just 20 seconds left in overtime, Johannsen stuffed her eighth shot of the contest, which wasted valuable time for FMU. After a jumper by the visitors, USC Aiken broke the press and Tsitouris found Johannsen for a lay-up as time expired for the four-point win.

USC Aiken jumped out to an 18-point advantage at the 10:47 mark on a three-point basket by Alexis Ware. After trailing 4-3, the squad embarked on a 22-3 run that spanned just over seven minutes. During the run, the Pacers used a strong offensive game by the entire team. Brandt hit a three-pointer, Emry Tsitouris added a pair of free throws prior to Reese hitting two. Kassy Johannsen nailed a jumper before Gilreath scored five straight. Kate Duff hit a three just before Ware drained her shot for the 18-point edge.

Although the Patriots managed to trim the deficit to just nine at the 2:47 mark, Brandt's team stretched the margin back to 12 at the break when Brandt nailed a corner three-point shot with 2:01 to play. It turned out that the basket was the last of the half for either team.

FMU sliced into the lead in the second half and took a one-point lead at the 11:24 mark. From that point forward, neither team gained more than a four-point lead – and that came on a charity toss by Tsitouris with 6:11 to play in regulation.

Tsitouris hit a pair of free throws with just 33 seconds remaining, giving Brandt's squad a two-point margin. However, she was fouled with eight seconds left and missed the front end of the one-and-one, giving the ball back to the Patriots. Camille Dash managed to hit a jumper with just under two seconds to play, forcing the overtime session.

For the game, USC Aiken held an 18-9 advantage on second-chance points. The squad also converted 10-of-28 from behind the three-point stripe, including seven in the opening stanza.

The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they travel to Armstrong State. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.