AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team cruised past Barton Tuesday evening by a score of 86-63 in a non-conference contest.

The Pacers are now 2-4 on the season.

Head coach Mark Miller's team was led by Hailey Unger's career-high 26 points. She added seven assists, six boards and three steals in the victory. 

Jaya Nelson added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists while Annalise Malone registered a double-double with 12 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Jentri Worley tallied 10 rebounds, five assists and six points.

Kelsie Woodard added seven points while Sami Bardonaro and Alivia Hikel added three points and two points, respectively.

In the first quarter, the teams were tied at 16-16 before Worley buried a three-ball at the 1:56 mark. Leading by one, Rivera took a pass from Worley for a three-point edge. Nelson's three-point bucket with 49 ticks remaining increased the margin to six. Malone was credited with an assist on the play. Up by four, Nelson and Unger made late shots for a 28-20 lead heading into the second quarter.

Miller's team pushed the advantage to double digits on a lay-up from Woodard off a pass from Unger. The Pacers held a 34-25 lead before Rivera found Nelson for a shot from distance. Worley hit Unger for a three-point bucket, pushing the lead to 15 at 40-25.

Holding a 40-27 lead, Malone converted a lay-up. Unger nailed a three-point shot before Nelson's lay-up extended the margin to 20. Bardonaro got in the act with a three from the wing before Unger's steal and lay-up just before halftime made it 52-27 at the break. 

After Barton outscored the Pacers by nine in the third frame, USC Aiken went back to work, outscoring the visitors 18-11 over the final 10 minutes of action. Up by 14, 71-57, Unger converted back-to-back shots prior to Worley finding Malone for a jumper. Nelson connected with Unger for a 22-point margin with 5:00 to play. 

Leading by 22, Malone hit a lay-up and Unger made one-of-two from the charity stripe for the largest lead of the game at 84-59. Up by 21, Hikel hit two free throws with 70 seconds remaining for the final tally.

For the game, Miller's team canned 35-of-63 from the floor (55.6 percent), including eight-of-17 from downtown (47.1 percent). The team held a commanding 53-27 lead on the glass. USC Aiken scored 42 points in the paint, had 22 fast break points and secured 16 second-chance points off 15 offensive rebounds. 

The 28 first-quarter points marked the ninth most ever scored in a quarter by USC Aiken and it marked the most points ever scored in the first frame. The 24-point second quarter marked the fifth-most points ever scored in the second stanza. The seven points allowed in the second frame marked the seventh-fewest points allowed in the second quarter. The stout defense forced the visitors into a mere one-of-15 (6.7 percent) from behind the three-point line.

The Pacers return to action Thursday when they host Erskine at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.