AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team lost a hard-fought game to Clayton State Saturday by a score of 73-68.
The Pacers are now 9-7 overall and 5-5 in league play. The Lakers are 10-4 on the year and 6-2 in the PBC.
Head coach
Mark Miller's team was led by
Kwajelin Farrar's game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Grace Crawford erupted for a career-high 20 points to go along with five assists.
Kyrie' Chandler connected for 11 points in the loss.
Alex Canady registered a career-best 13 rebounds.
USC Aiken jumped out to a 19-8 lead after one quarter of play. The Pacers made it a 7-2 contest after a shot from
Star Toomey off a pass from Farrar. Miller's team extended the margin to 12 when Crawford buried a three-ball off a pass from
Sade Johnson to make it 19-7 with 1:37 to play in the stanza.
The Pacers pushed the lead to 16 at the 6:41 mark of the second quarter when Chandler canned a three-point shot off a nifty pass from Crawford, making it 26-10. USC Aiken maintained a double-digit advantage for much of the period, but a shot by the visitors in the final minute of the half made it 33-28 at the break in favor of the home squad.
A pair of charity tosses gave the Pacers a 40-35 lead at the 4:13 mark of the third quarter, but the visitors embarked on a 15-0 run to make it 50-40. Farrar's jumper with 27 seconds to go in the frame cut the deficit to 50-42.
Kyrie' Chandler's old-fashioned three-point play with 5:04 to go in the game pulled the home team within six at 59-53. Forced to foul in the closing minutes, Miller's team continued to close the gap, but could only trim the deficit to five in the final minute.
For the game, USC Aiken hit 25-of-60 (41.7 percent) from the floor, including seven-of-23 from downtown (30.4 percent). Miller's squad held a 52-30 advantage on the glass, but the visitors managed to net 33 points off miscues.
The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they play at UNC Pembroke at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
