HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team lost a 78-62 contest at Coker Tuesday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 3-6 on the season.

Head coach Mark Miller's team was led by Marta Rivera's career-high tying 20-point effort. That mark led all student-athletes in the game. She connected on nine-of-10 from the floor and two-for-three from the charity stripe. Rivera also tallied five boards, four steals and two assists in 31 minutes of action.

Annalise Malone and Jentri Worley each had 13 points. Malone pulled down four rebounds while Worley dished out three assists.

Hailey Unger totaled six points and five boards while Sami Bardonaro chipped in five points. Destiny Harman added three markers while Rhiannon Saller and Paris Webster had one point apiece. Jaya Nelson pulled down four rebounds and had two assists. Webster had three steals while Unger added two..

Down 12-7 near the midway point of the first quarter, Miller called a time-out. After the break in action, Malone converted an inside shot to pull within three. Coker extended the gap to 10 with a jumper at the 1:07 mark but Rivera found Malone for a jumper of her own, making it 20-12 heading into the second quarter.

An old-fashioned three-point play from Rivera pulled USC Aiken within five, 20-15, at the 9:14 mark. Jumpers by Unger and Rivera closed the margin to three with 7:53 to go before halftime. Coker countered with an 11-0 run before Nelson found Rivera for a lay-up at the 2:53 mark to make it 33-21. Down by 14, Malone took a pass from Rivera and scored. Worley added two free throws with 33 seconds before halftime but the Cobras made it 37-25 at the break.

Miller's squad sliced the deficit to eight just 1:39 into the second half. Worley and Rivera drained shots to make it a 37-29 contest. Down 47-35, Bardonaro hit both free throws with 2:15 to play in the stanza to pull the visitors within 10, 47-37. However, the Cobras netted the final eight points of the quarter for a 55-37 advantage going into the final frame.

Trailing 57-37, Nelson found Bardonaro for a three-ball at the 9:17 mark. Unger's two free throws 35 seconds later made it a 57-42 game but that was as close as the visitors would get until Worley's three-point bucket off a pass from Bardonaro made it 67-54 with 4:12 to play.  

For the game, Miller's team canned 21-of-49 (42. Percent) from the floor. The squad drained 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) from the charity stripe. The team dished out 13 assists in the game. The Pacers held a 22-15 edge off the bench. USC Aiken tallied 38 points in the paint.

The Pacers return to action Saturday, Dec. 30 when they host Mount Olive at 1:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.