MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team lost a hard-fought 81-78 contest at Georgia College & State Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 4-8 on the season and 0-2 in league play.

Head coach Mark Miller's team was led by Hailey Unger's 25-point performance on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor, including five-of-eight from downtown. Jentri Worley narrowly missed a double-double with 14 points and nine assists. Annalise Malone added 11 markers in the loss.

Trailing 4-0 in the early going, Nelson and Worley each hit buckets to knot the score. Moments later, Rivera found Webster for a three-ball, tying the contest at 7-7. Down 18-9, Webster hit Malone for a three-point bucket. Down 24-14, Worley made a driving lay-up, slicing the deficit to eight with 2:00 to play in the frame. GCSU managed a late basket for a 29-18 advantage going into the second quarter.

Unger opened the scoring in the second stanza with a three-point shot off a pass from Worley. At the 8:47 mark, Unger struck again for two points before Rivera's jumper made it a 29-25 game at the 7:50 mark. Trailing 33-25, Nelson connected with Unger for shot from downtown. With just under 6:00 to play, Kelsie Woodard was credited with an assist as Unger netted her 10^th point of the game to make it 33-30. After pulling within one at 36-35, Unger continued her torrid shooting with a jumper at the 3:42 mark to pull the visitors within two at 39-37. Down 42-38, Malone took a pass from Worley and found the bottom of the net. Jaya Nelson's three-point shot off a pass from Malone gave Miller's team a 43-42 edge at halftime.

The Bobcats held a 62-48 lead with 4:38 to play in the third quarter but Miller's team whittled into the margin, starting with a pair of free throws by Worley at the 3:01 mark. A minute later, Worley found Rhiannon Saller for her first two points of the game. Worley's three-point basket with 1:24 to play made it 62-55. Down by 10, Worley found Saller for a lay-up to make it 65-57 heading into the fourth frame.

Rivera connected with Worley for a quick three-point shot to get things going. Unger's three-ball made it 65-63 before a pull-up from Worley knotted the score at 65-65 with 8:32 to play. Down 68-65, Worley dished out a sensational pass and Unger promptly found the bottom of the net from distance to once again tie the score.

Trailing 72-70, Webster nailed a three-ball off a pass from Worley with 3:15 to go. Rivera gave the lead to the visitors briefly on a three-point shot but the Bobcats netted the next five points for a 78-76 lead with 1:03 to play.

USC Aiken responded at the 47-second mark as Malone made a lay-up. GCSU hit a three-point shot with four seconds to go for the final margin.

For the game, USC Aiken hit 29-of-66 from the floor (43.9 percent), including a 13-of-28 effort from downtown (46.4 percent). The squad dished out 21 assists in the game and held a 12-2 edge on the break.

The Pacers return to action Wednesday, Jan. 10, when they host Flagler at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.