Women's Basketball | November 08, 2022

Each week, the University of South Carolina Aiken will produce notes. This week, USC Aiken hosts Lenoir-Rhyne and No. 9 Carson-Newman. 

2022-23 Schedule

Early Tests

The Pacers open the season by hosting the Conference Challenge on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13. The squad has a pair of SAC schools on the schedule including No. 9 Carson-Newman on Sunday. Pacer Nation will get to see four highly-competitive and highly-ranked teams (in their respective conferences and nationally) over the first two days of the season.

Against No. 9

Since moving to Division II, USC Aiken is 19-54 against nationally-ranked teams. During that time, the team is 0-1 against the No. 9 team nationally, which occurred on Jan. 29, 2022 against Lander. 

Seventy Percent 

The Pacers have 10 home non-conference games this season and seven of those are in front of the home fans. USC Aiken opens with four consecutive home contests, including the rare Sunday afternoon game, before playing at Shaw Nov. 23. The only other road contests the team has before January are the contests at Kentucky State and Mount Olive in December. 

Core Group

USC Aiken is still a relatively young team despite having eight returners from last year. Madison Williams is the lone senior on the squad while Ireona Brooks and Chesney Gardner are the only other junior returners. The sophomores include redshirt-sophomore Jentri Worley, sophomores Yasmine Fairchild, McKenzie Lott, Delaney Trushel and Emily Trushel. The returners are listed by their on-court year, including the COVID-19 extra year. 

Meet The Newcomers

Head coach Mark Miller has eight newcomers this season – one junior and seven freshmen. Marta Rivera, a 6-0 forward, is a transfer from Quincy. The rookies include Mary Cartee (5-10 guard/forward), Olivia Ellis (5-6 guard), Breanna Gustave (5-7 guard), Annalise Malone (6-0 forward), Rhiannon Saller (6-0 forward), Hailey Unger (5-8 guard) and Kelsie Woodard (6-1 center). Overall, the newcomers are extremely talented and could make huge contributions throughout the season.

Inside The Numbers

This week, USC Aiken hosts Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday, Nov. 12 and No. 9 Carson-Newman on Sunday, Nov. 13. Since moving to Division II, the Pacers are 177-183 (49.2 percent) in Saturday games and 16-11 (59.3 percent) in Sunday contests. During the same time, the squad is on 0-1 on Nov. 12 and 1-2 on Nov. 13.

Against The Opponents

This week, USC Aiken hosts Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday, Nov. 12 and No. 9 Carson-Newman on Sunday, Nov. 13. The Pacers are 9-3 in the all-time series against the Bears. L-R has won two straight in the series but the last time the squads played in the Convocation Center, USC Aiken picked up a 70-41 win on Nov. 29, 2010. The Pacers trail the all-time series 10-3 to the Eagles. The last time USC Aiken picked up a home win over C-N was Dec. 16, 2003 by a 61-46 score.