AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team lost a 64-63 contest to Francis Marion Saturday evening in a Peach Belt Conference contest.

The Pacers are now 9-18 on the season and 4-14 against league foes. The Patriots improve to 20-7 on the year, including an 11-7 mark against conference competition.

Head coach Mike Brandt's team was led by Kassy Johannsen's career-high 23 points. She also pulled down eight rebounds and blocked a game-high five shots. Mariah Durian contributed 12 points and four assists while Stephanie Ball tallied eight points and four assists. 

After falling behind 18-14 heading into the first quarter, Brandt's team outscored the opposition 22-16 in the second period. Ball converted back-to-back three-point shots, tying the contest at 20-20. Trailing 27-22, Durian hit a jumper and Jasmine Coach buried a deep three-pointer. Durian's three-pointer concluded the team's 8-0 run for a 30-27 advantage. A pair of free throws by Johannsen with eight seconds to play in the half gave the home squad a 36-34 lead into the break.

USC Aiken fell behind 58-49 heading into the fourth quarter, but Brandt's team would not quit. Alexis Ware and Johnannsen converted back-to-back lay-ups, slicing the deficit to five at 58-53. Coach's three-pointer trimmed the margin to two, 58-56, with 6:39 to play in the contest.

Down by four, Johannsen and Durian hit back-to-back shots, tying the game at 63-63 with 1:20 to play. After FMU tried to take the lead with 47 seconds to play, Johannsen swatted away a shot attempt, giving the Pacers the ball. 

USC Aiken worked the clock down and Ball attempted a shot with 10 seconds to play that rimmed out. The Patriots grabbed the board and called a time-out. After the break, FMU took the ball and drove the lane. Tete Flowers was fouled by Johannsen with one second left and converted the first of two free throw attempts for the one-point margin. 

For the game, the Pacers drained 25-of-61 shots from the floor (41 percent), including seven-of-18 from downtown (38.9 percent). The squad got to the free throw line eight times, hitting six attempts (75 percent).

USC Aiken dominated in converting its chances off of the Patriots' miscues, turning 15 turnovers into 14 points. The squad also held a 9-6 edge in second-chance points and a 9-2 lead in fastbreak points. 

The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they host Augusta at 5:30 p.m. Live stats, video and audio will be available at PacerSports.com.