FLORENCE, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team put forth a valiant effort but came up short at Francis Marion Wednesday evening by a score of 68-56.

The Pacers are now 5-15 on the season and 2-12 in league play. The Patriots are 13-6 overall and 10-4 against conference foes.

Head coach Mark Miller's team was led by Kyrie' Chandler's 18 points. She was five-of-nine from the floor and six-for-six from the foul line. Melyk Taouil connected for 16 points while Marissa Bruce and Star Toomey each netted 10 markers.

Toomey was outstanding on the glass, snagging 15 rebounds for a double-double effort. It marked her second double-double performance of the season.

Trailing by 17 at the break, USC Aiken reeled off a solid third frame, outscoring the home team 17-10. Down 46-28 with 8:21 to play, Taouil registered back-to-back lay-ups, making it 46-32. After forcing a turnover, Chandler buried a three-ball off a pass from Celine Vega, pulling the team within 11.

Sade Johnson grabbed a rebound and Vega found Toomey for a bucket at the 6:07 mark. Taouil stole the ball and got it to Chandler, who converted a lay-up, slicing the deficit to seven at 46-39 with 5:15 to play in the frame. However, FMU embarked on a 7-0 run for a 14-point advantage.

USC Aiken trimmed the margin to 10 before the end of the period and connected on the first two points of the fourth on a lay-up by Taouil, but the Patriots were able to keep the Pacers at bay the rest of the contest.

For the game, Miller's team canned 20-of-53 from the floor (37.7 percent), including three-of-11 from downtown (27.3 percent). The squad buried 13-of-16 from the charity stripe (81.3 percent). USC Aiken held a 24-14 advantage in the paint.   

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