AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team lost a hard-fought 72-69 contest to UNC Pembroke Wednesday evening.
The Pacers are now 10-7 on the year and 5-4 in league play.
Head coach
Mark Miller's team was led by
Kwajelin Farrar's 14-point, 12-rebound double-double effort.
Melyk Taouil poured in a team-best 19 points to go along with seven rebounds while
Alexis Mack totaled 10 points and seven rebounds.
Alex Canady dished out a game-best five assists.
Chesney Gardner came off the bench to post nine points and five rebounds.
USC Aiken trailed 7-0 before roaring back to tie the game at 9-9 on a three-ball from
Kanna Suzuki. Miller's team led by four at 16-12 when Gardner hit a jumper off a pass from Canady. Tied at 18-18, Gardner converted an old-fashioned three-point play for a 21-18 edge with 23 seconds to play in the first quarter.
In a back-and-forth second quarter, the Braves led 38-33 before
Madison Williams found Farrar for a jumper in the lane. The score was 38-35 at the break.
Trailing 47-44, Taouil and Mack hit back-to-back jumpers for a 48-47 lead.
Rikoya Anderson took a pass from Gardner for a bucket. Anderson weaved past a defender and hit another jumper with 55 seconds to go in the third for a 52-47 lead. Up 52-50, Taouil cut through the defense for a runner, giving the squad a 54-50 advantage heading into the fourth stanza.
The squads traded baskets in the fourth quarter. Tied at 63-63, USC Aiken scored the next five points, including a bucket from Taouil to go up 68-63 with 1:13 to go. The Braves scored the next six points, but Mack hit the second of two foul shots to knot the score at 69-69. UNC Pembroke hit a three-point shot with six-tenths of a second to play for the win.
For the game, USC Aiken hit 28-of-61 from the floor (45.9 percent). The squad out-rebounded the visitors 43-29 and held a 13-4 edge in second-chance points.
The Pacers return to action Saturday when they play at Lander at 1:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
