SAVANNAH, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team had four student-athletes in double figures in the 58-55 victory at Armstrong State Wednesday evening.

The Pacers improve to 13-7 on the season, including a 9-2 mark in the Peach Belt Conference. The Pirates are now 9-9 on the year and fall to 7-4 against league competition.

Senior Mackenzie Reese scored a game-high 15 points and tied for team-best accolades with eight rebounds in 38 minutes of work. She also swatted away a game-high four shots in the win.

Coming off the bench, Kate Duff tallied 14 points on six-of-12 shooting. She dished out a team-high four assists and grabbed four boards. Kassy Johannsen notched 12 points and eight boards while Emry Tsitouris chipped in 10 points and six rebounds. All 10 of Tsitouris' points came in the final 5:55 of the game.

Head coach Mike Brandt's team held the Pirates to 32.2 percent shooting while his team connected on 39.7 percent of its attempts. However, the squad was just one-of-nine from behind the three-point arc (11.1 percent). USC Aiken was nearly flawless at the charity stripe, hitting 11-of-12 (91.7 percent) for the game, including a 10-of-11 effort in the second period.

The Pacers held an 11-9 edge in assists and converted 16 Armstrong State turnovers into 15 points while holding the home team to just four points off USC Aiken's miscues. With the inside presence by Brandt's team, the Pacers maintained an 18-6 edge in the paint while also totaling a 20-15 advantage in bench points. In all, there were nine lead changes and eight ties.

After a low-scoring first half that saw the teams battle to a 20-20 draw heading into intermission, USC Aiken found itself trailing by three with 16:20 to play. Johannsen made a pair of free throws at the 14:10 mark, pulling the squad within one at 27-26.

Trailing 29-26, Reese and Duff hit back-to-back jumpers for a 30-29 edge. Duff converted an old-fashioned three-point play just under the 10-minute mark for a 33-29 lead. However, the Pirates answered with a 9-0 spurt, taking a 38-33 advantage.

USC Aiken trailed 41-37 with 5:33 to play, but a pair of free throws by Tsitouris sparked the young squad. She hit a lay-up on the team's next possession, tying the game at 41. Down by two, Duff and Tsitouris made back-to-back lay-ups for a 45-43 margin. After a media time-out, Tsitouris and Reese buried back-to-back jumpers, extending the lead to six at 49-43.

Duff hit an inside shot with 1:52 to play for a 51-45 advantage, but the Pirates managed to trim the score to 53-50 with just 35 seconds remaining.  

Stephanie Ball made a pair of free throws with 25 ticks on the clock, but Armstrong State answered with a quick shot. Duff countered with a lay-up at the 16-second mark, making it a five-point contest.

Amaura Brandt made a free throw with 11 seconds remaining for a 58-54 advantage before the team earned a three-point win.

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they play at Young Harris. Tip-off is slated for 1:30 p.m.