DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team dropped a 71-49 contest at North Georgia Wednesday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 5-22 on the season.

Head coach Mark Miller's team was led by a 16-point performance by Paris Webster. Annalise Malone registered 10 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double. Jentri Worley accounted for seven points and four rebounds while Rhiannon Saller notched six points and six boards.

USC Aiken got on the scoreboard first. After neither team managed to get into the scoring column through the first five minutes of action, Worley broke the scoreless tie with a pair of free throws at the 4:18 mark. Marta Rivera added a charity toss a minute later for a 3-0 advantage. The Nighthawks maintained a 12-3 lead going into the second quarter.

UNG led 20-3 but Sami Bardonaro found Worley for a lay-up. Jaya Nelson hit a pair of free throws to make it 20-7 at the 6:34 mark. Down 22-7, Worley converted a three-point play. Webster hit a lay-up, cutting the deficit to 10. Just 22 seconds later, Webster added to her point tally with another basket, but the home team was up 33-16 at the break.

Trailing 55-27 heading into the fourth frame, Miller's team outscored the home squad 22-16 over the final 10 minutes of action. Malone found the bottom of the net three times from the charity stripe to get the scoring going in the quarter. After a field goal by UNG, Worley found Saller for a lay-up. Webster hit two free throws at the 6:51 mark. Down 59-34, Kelsie Woodard hit two charity tosses and Webster converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 59-39.  

For the game, Miller's team connected on 12 field goals. The squad buried 24-of-28 from the charity stripe (85.7 percent). USC Aiken snagged 12 offensive rebounds while limiting the Nighthawks to nine offensive boards. The Pacers forced 15 turnovers, resulting in 12 second-chance points. USC Aiken garnered 11 points off turnovers.

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