GREENWOOD, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team outscored Lander 24-11 over the final 10 minutes en route to a 68-65 road win Wednesday evening in a Peach Belt Conference contest.

The Pacers improve to 7-9 on the season and 2-5 against conference competition. The Bearcats are now 11-5 overall and 5-2 against league foes with the loss.

Rachelle Aupont led the victors with a team-high 15 points on five-of-13 shooting from the floor, including a five-of-nine effort from downtown. Mariah Durian had a solid outing with 12 points and seven rebounds while Kassy Johannsen chipped in 10 points and six boards.

Jasmine Coach led the team with nine rebounds and once again was close to a double-double with eight rebounds. Johannsen, Stephanie Ball and Aubrey Lukacsko each dished out four assists while Katelyn Grisillo got in the act with three assists.

Ball, Lukackso and Ware all had six points and Kate Duff totaled five markers before fouling out.

USC Aiken got off to a slow start, falling behind 25-10 with 1:13 to play in the first quarter. However, Ware took a pass from Coach and buried a three-point basket with 26 ticks remaining in the stanza, making it a 25-13 contest heading into the second period.

The Pacers trailed 34-23 before Durian buried a jumper off an assist from Lukackso with 4:209 to go before intermission. Johannsen followed her up with a bucket of her own. After a field goal by the home team, Coach sliced the deficit to seven at 36-29 after a great look by Grisillo.

Back-to-back baskets by Coach and Johannsen pulled the visitors within five at 38-33 with 8:20 to go in the third. The Pacers answered the Bearcats' three-pointer with one of their own when Ware hit one from behind the arc off a pass from Ball. Although USC Aiken trailed 52-40 with 2:34 to play in the third stanza, Ball made it a 10-point game going into the fourth quarter.

Lukacsko's three-pointer at the 5:18 mark trimmed the deficit to seven at 56-49. Aupont drained back-to-back three-point shots, making it a three-point contest at 58-55 with 3:04 to go.

Aupont hit a shot from deep, pulling the squad within two at 62-60, but the home team answered with a pair of free throws. Aupont quickly countered with another three-pointer. Lander hit one free throw after a foul by Duff, but Aupont continued with the hot hand for another three-point basket with 18 seconds to play for a one-point advantage.

Durian buried a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left and USC Aiken survived a dyad of three-point attempts in the waning seconds before Coach snagged the rebound to secure the win as time expired.

For the game, USC Aiken canned 25-of-66 shots from the floor (37.9 percent) compared to 20-of-61 shooting by the Bearcats (32.8 percent). The Pacers buried 13-of-31 from downtown (41.9 percent) while limiting the home team to a mere seven-of-28 shooting from deep (25 percent). Head coach Mike Brandt's team got to the free throw line just six times, but hit five attempts (83.3 percent).

USC Aiken dished out 21 assists on the 25 buckets. The squad forced 12 turnovers while committing nine. Brandt's team held a one-point edge in points off turnovers but held a distinctive 39-10 advantage in bench points.

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they play at Georgia Southwestern at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.