SAVANNAH, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team lost a hard fought 77-74 contest at Armstrong State Saturday afternoon in a Peach Belt Conference contest.

The Pacers are now 5-7 overall and 0-3 against league competition. The Pirates improve to 9-3 overall and 1-2 against league foes.

Head coach Mike Brandt's team was paced by Stephanie Ball's team-high 17 points, game-best four assists and game-high four thefts. Kassy Johannsen had a solid game with 16 points, four boards and one block before fouling out after 21 minutes of work. She was eight-of-10 from the floor in the contest.

Rachelle Aupont notched 12 markers and nine rebounds, narrowly missing out on a double-double while Mariah Durian chipped in 11 points and seven boards in the loss.

Durian garnered three steals while Kate Duff and Katelyn Grisillo each had two.

For the game, Brandt's team shot 27-of-62 from the floor (43.5 percent). The squad hit 13-of-21 from the charity stripe (61.9 percent) and seven-of-21 from downtown (33.3 percent).

Although the Pacers were out-rebounded by one, the team had a five-rebound advantage on the offensive glass, posting 16. The team had 14 assists on 27 buckets and tallied 11 steals compared to nine thefts by the home team. USC Aiken also forced three more turnovers than it committed.

Brandt's team held a 24-19 advantage in points off turnovers and a 17-12 margin in second chance points.

USC Aiken fell behind 5-2 in the opening moment, but Ball drilled back-to-back three-point baskets and Johannsen's jumper allowed the Pacers to race to a 10-6 lead at the 7:22 mark of the opening quarter. Durian's three-point basket off a pass from Aubrey Lukackso pushed the score to 16-11 in favor of the visitors at the 3:35 mark. Leading 20-19 in the closing seconds, Jasmine Coach corralled an offensive rebound and hit a jumper as time expired in the first period for a 22-19 advantage.

Brandt's team fell behind by as many as seven in the second frame, but battled back. Lukackso hit a lay-up with 1:15 to play before half, making it a 38-36 game in favor of the home team. After a pair of free throws by the Pirates, USC Aiken closed out the half when Aupont nailed a three-pointer with three seconds left on the clock.

 The Pirates took an eight-point lead with 6:05 to play in the third stanza, but the Pacers continued to fight back. Aupont hit a shot from downtown and Johannsen converted a lay-up, making it 51-48 with 4:39 to play. Durian scored four of the final six points of the quarter, helping USC Aiken pull within two at 56-54 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Pacers reeled off the first six points of the final period as Coach and Duff each chipped in a pair of markers. Ball's jumper pushed the lead to four at 60-56 with 8:17 to go. USC Aiken maintained a six-point edge as Johannsen scored off a nifty pass from Coach with 6:08 to play and the score 66-60.

Armstrong State regained the lead at 69-68, but Duff converted an old-fashioned three-point play for a 71-69 edge at the 3:47 mark. The Pirates scored the next four points, but Ball hit another jumper with 2:14 to go, knotting the contest at 73-73.

The Pirates netted a pair of free throws with just under a minute remaining. Aupont was fouled, but missed the first charity toss. She converted the second free throw, making it a one-point game. After a pair of turnovers, Armstrong State hit a lay-up with five seconds to play. USC Aiken missed the game-tying shot with two seconds left in the game.   

The Pacers return to action Monday when they play at Flagler. The game is slated to start at 1:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.