On Dec. 3, the University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team stepped up and played Division I Winthrop for the first time in school history. The Pacers notched a six-point win against the Big South Conference team, marking a major milestone in the program's history.
AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team pounced on Winthrop early and withstood a second-half rally en route to a 70-64 road win against the Big South Conference foe.
The Pacers are now 4-3 on the season.
Head coach
Mark Miller's team was led by the dyad of
Jasmine Carter and
Kwajelin Farrar, who poured in 12 points apiece. Farrar tallied a double-double by snagging a game-best 10 boards. Carter added three blocks for good measure.
Jasmine Coach earned the start and responded with five points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes of work.
Melyk Taouil also garnered the start and chipped in five markers, three assists and a pair of boards.
Carly Gilreath accounted for nine points and dished out a game-high six assists.
Alexis Ware tallied nine points to go along with three steals while
Emry Tsitouris posted eight points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal in 17 minutes of work.
For the game, USC Aiken tallied 19 points off 18 turnovers.
Although the Eagles scored the first two points of the contest, a jumper by Farrar at the 19:18 mark tied it. Farrar netted the next two points before Winthrop knotted the score at 4-4. However, a three-pointer by Gilreath at the 5:30 mark to give the Pacers the lead for good.
Ware drained a jumper with 4:18 to play in the first quarter for a 9-6 advantage. She was fouled on the play and converted an old-fashioned three-point play for the four-point lead. Tsitouris and Duff quickly added a pair of shots for a 14-6 margin. Taouil made a pair of free throws and Carter's jumper pushed the score to 18-6 with 1:43 to play in the quarter. Carter added three points before the end of the period and the Pacers closed the first stanza with a 19-9 edge.
USC Aiken continued applying pressure as Gilreath's lay-up early in the second quarter off a pass from Taouil made it 21-9. Duff found Farrar for a lay-up at the 6:51 mark for a 14-point lead. Although the Eagles sliced the deficit to single digits, the Pacers extended their lead to 15 with 45 seconds to play in the half when Gilreath found Carter for a deep three-ball. Miller's team ended the half with a 33-19 lead after a charity toss from Tsitouris.
Taouil pushed the margin to 17 with a three-pointer to open the scoring in the third quarter. A three-pointer from Ware with 5:49 on the clock made it a 44-21 game, but Winthrop managed to slice into the deficit to make it a 51-37 score heading into the fourth quarter.
Twice in the fourth quarter USC Aiken pushed the lead to 18 points, coming off shots from Coach and Carter, but the Eagles tried to mount a comeback. However, the Pacers maintained a double-digit lead for the most part until there were just 71 seconds to play. Winthrop trimmed the score to 69-64 with 16 seconds to play, but Gilreath was fouled and made one-of-two for the 70-64 score.
The victory over Winthrop marked the first time the two programs have ever faced one another. Winthrop counted the game as an exhibition, but it goes down as a countable game for USC Aiken.
