DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The USCA women's basketball team lost an 82-61 decision at No. 5 North Georgia Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 3-15 overall, including 0-8 in PBC play. The Nighthawks are now 17-1 on the year and 7-1 against conference foes.

Head coach Mark Miller's team was led by Kendall Parker's 14-point effort. Sami Bardonaro tallied nine points while Riley Simmons accounted for eight points. Serena Baker chipped in seven markers while Paris Webster contributed six points and four steals.

Destiny Harman and Gracie Huffard had five points apiece. Huffard also pulled down a team-best five rebounds. Rhiannon Saller had four points and four boards to go along with two thefts. Jaya Nelson and Olivia Ellis had two points and one point, respectively.

Bardonaro tied the contest at 2-2 off an assist from Baker at the 8:07 mark. Down 6-2, Simmons connected with Baker for an inside bucket. Trailing 13-5, Harman found Bardonaro for a three-ball. With just under two minutes to play in the first frame, Simmons found the bottom of the net on a jumper, pulling the visitors to within three at 13-10. The Nighthawks pushed the margin to eight before Parker hit Simmons for a shot from distance just before the buzzer.

A 13-2 spurt by the nationally-ranked foe made it 31-15, but Parker stopped the run with a jumper. Down 34-17, Webster and Baker made back-to-back lay-ups. Baker's shot was off a pass from Huffard. Bardonaro's free throw pulled the team within 12, 34-22, but UNG closed the half on a 5-0 spurt.

Bardonaro got things going in the third quarter with a three-point bucket. She found Simmons for another shot from deep, cutting the deficit to 10, 41-31. Down 43-31, Saller nailed a jumper off a pass from Simmons. An old-fashioned three-point play from Baker sliced the margin to seven at the 6:52 mark. Nelson's field goal made it 47-40 with 5:32 to go in the stanza. A 10-2 run by The Nighthawks at the end of the quarter pushed the score to 63-45 entering the fourth quarter.

For the game, USCA buried 21-of-54 from the floor (38.9 percent), including six-of-16 (37.5 percent) from downtown. The team connected on 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) from the charity stripe. Miller's team distributed 12 assists and got 27 points off the bench. The squad recorded 11 steals and scored 11 points off turnovers.

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they play at Georgia College & State University at 1:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.