GREENWOOD, S.C. – The USCA women's basketball team lost a 70-47 contest to Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday afternoon in the season opener.

The Pacers are now 0-1 on the year while the Bears are 1-0.

Down 4-0, Paris Webster buried four consecutive free throws. Trailing 6-4, Sami Bardonaro found Rhiannon Saller for a basket. The Bears netted 10 straight points before Destiny Harman canned a jumper at the 2:34 mark of the first quarter.

Saller and Jaya Nelson hit shots early in the second stanza, pulling the designated home team within 13 at 27-14. Down 39-16 late in the first half, Kendall Parker found Riley Simmons for a basket from distance.

After halftime, USCA embarked on a 6-0 spurt that spanned just 67 seconds. Bardonaro found Saller for a jumper. Nelson drilled a shot before Webster hit two more charity tosses.  Trailing 54-27, Saller drained a pair of free throws. Morgan McDermott found Saller for a lay-up with 13 seconds to go in the quarter to make it 56-31.

Just past the midway point of the fourth frame, Makaylei Snyder hit Simmons for a bucket. At the 3:04 mark, Kiah McDuffie found Molly Burns for a three-ball. Simmons canned a jumper off a pass from Harman and Graice Huffard connected for a lay-up at the 1:35 mark.

Head coach Mark Miller's team was led by Saller's 10-point, four-rebound performance. Burns, Nelson and Simmons had eight points apiece. Huffard and Simmons pulled down six boards each. Webster added seven points.

For the game, USCA hit 16-of-64 from the floor (25 percent). The team buried 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe. Miller's squad outrebounded the opposition 44-35, including 21-7 on the offensive glass. The Pacers tallied 20 points off the bench and had nine second chance points. USCA registered six steals.  

The Pacers return to action tomorrow when they square off against No. 14 Carson-Newman at 12 p.m., in the final game of the Conference Challenge. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.