SALISBURY, N.C. – The No. 6 University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team's season came to a close Friday with a 92-66 loss to No. 3 Georgia Southwestern in the first round of the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament, which was hosted by Catawba.

The Pacers conclude their season at 18-12.

Head coach Mark Miller's team was led by Annalise Malone's team-high 18 points on five-of-nine shooting from the field and eight-of-nine shooting from the foul line. Breanna Gustave added 16 points on seven-of-11 shooting while Jentri Worley chipped in nine points. Delaney Trushel had eight points and a team-best six rebounds while Emily Trushel had seven points and a team-high three assists.

In the first quarter, Gustave netted the first two points of the game on a lay-up after snagging a defensive rebound just four seconds earlier. A jumper by Annalise Malone at the 7:55 mark gave USC Aiken a 4-2 edge. Gustave put the Pacers in front 6-4 with 7:30 to play in the frame. Malone's free throw made it 7-6. 

GSW took its first lead of the game at 8-7 with 5:48 to go in the quarter. Trailing 10-7, Hailey Unger found Emily Trushel for a basket. Down 12-9, Gustave answered with a jumper at the 3:43 mark. Two charity tosses from Emily Trushel gave USC Aiken a 13-12 lead before a three-point shot by the Hurricanes made it 15-13 at the end of the stanza.  

Down 17-13, Jentri Worley found the bottom of the net to make it 17-15. GSW went on an 11-0 run for a 28-15 lead. Worley hit two free throws at the 6:42 mark but the No. 3 seed embarked on another run en route to a 45-22 lead at the break. 

Trailing 54-27 early in the third quarter, Miller's team continued to battle. A Worley lay-up off a pass from Emily Trushel cut the deficit to 23 at the 6:14 mark. Madison Williams hit Delaney Trushel for a three-point bucket, making it 60-41. A pair of free throws by Malone put the score at 66-49 at the end of the frame. 

After falling behind 70-49, Emily Trushel converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 8:17 to go, but that was as close as the Pacers could get the rest of the way. 

For the game, USC Aiken hit 22-of-50 from the floor (44.0 percent), including five-of-10 from downtown (50.0 percent). The team drilled 17-of-18 from the charity stripe (94.4 percent). The Pacers accounted for 22 points in the paint and nine points off turnovers.  

The NCAA Tournament appearance marked the first for the program since the 2012-13 season.