AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team put forth a dominant defensive effort after intermission and posted a 72-61 victory over Georgia College Wednesday morning in a Peach Belt Conference contest.

The Pacers are now 5-7 on the year and 1-2 against conference competition while the Bobcats fall to 8-2 overall and 2-1 in league play.

Rachelle Aupont led head coach Mark Miller's team with 17 points to go along with six rebounds. Kwajelin Farrar registered another double-double performance with 16 points and 11 boards. She connected on seven-of-nine from the field.

Carly Gilreath accounted for 14 points and four rebounds in the win while freshman Melyk Taouil notched eight points and four assists to go along with a team-best two steals. Jasmine Coach contributed eight rebounds and shared team-high honors with four assists.

USC Aiken fell behind early and never forced a tie or gained the lead in the first half. However, an inspired halftime speech by Miller helped propel the Pacers to the victory.

Trailing 42-32 just 11 seconds into the third quarter, Farrar answered with a bucket off a pass from Sade Johnson. After a teal from Taouil, Johnson took a pass and buried a fast break three-ball, trimming the deficit to five, 42-37. USC Aiken was not done as Coach took a pass from Melyk and converted a jumper in the lane.

Down by five, Taouil hit a pair of free throws at the 7:08 mark. She registered a steal and a lay-up less than a minute later to make it a one-point game. A three-pointer by Aupont off a pass from Gilreath knotted the score at 46-46 with 4:30 on the clock in the period. Aupont converted a deep three for a 49-48 lead at the 3:47 mark.

The teams went back-and-forth the rest of the period and a pair of free throws by Kate Duff in the waning seconds pulled the Pacers within one, 54-53.

USC Aiken opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer from Gilreath. On the ensuing possession, she converted another three-ball – and both were off assists from Coach.

The defense remained solid and the Pacers added to the lead as Aupont got into the act by netting four straight points. Farrar's jumper at the 5:05 mark gave the Pacers a 65-54 lead.

Another jumper and three-pointer by Aupont pushed the score to 70-54 with 3:01 to play and USC Aiken never looked back. In all, Miller's team embarked on a 16-0 run spanning 7:25.

For the game, USC Aiken canned 27-of-59 from the floor (45.8 percent), including eight-of-18 from downtown (44.4 percent). The squad tied a school record by netting all 10 free throw attempts.

Miller's team held a 12-8 advantage in second-chance points and garnered a 29-17 edge in bench points. USC Aiken also controlled the paint, outscoring the visitors by 10 (30-20).

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they host Columbus State at 1:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.