HICKORY, N.C. – Brittany Batts secured her first victory as the USCA women's basketball team knocked off Carson-Newman 62-54 Sunday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 1-1 on the season.

Batts' team was led by Morgan McDermott's 17-point effort. Mahkayla Premo recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds while Nika Kurdija netted 10 points. Mackenna Nix added eight points while Monique Emelifeonwu and Ioanna Stefanaki tallied six points each. Riley Miller and Zenia Palaska had two points apiece.

Emelifeonwu and Stefanaki pulled down five boards apiece while Kurdija, McDermott and Miller snagged four boards each.

Miller dished out five assists. Emelifeonwu swatted six shots and had a pair of steals in the win.

Trailing 5-0 in the early going, USCA embarked on a 10-0 spurt. Nix got things going with a lay-up before Emelifeonwu nailed two free throws. Premo found Stefanaki for a three-ball as did McDermott for a five-point margin at the 3:14 mark. Leading 10-9, McDermott took a pass from Emelifeonwu and buried a shot from distance as the squad maintained a 13-11 edge going into the second frame.

Kurdija opened the second quarter with a three-point basket and Nix's lay-up pushed the advantage to seven, 18-11. Up by five, Premo and Emelifeonwu netted shots, increasing the margin to nine, 28-19. Up 32-28, Stefanaki hit two charity tosses and Premo nailed a three-ball. USCA held a 37-30 lead at the break.

McDermott's inside bucket off a pass from Miller extended the score to 41-32 with 6:48 to play in the third quarter. Holding a 44-40 lead, Nix and Stefanaki hit two free throws apiece in the final 32 ticks of the frame for a 48-40 margin entering the final stanza.

Just 20 seconds into the final quarter, Kurdija nailed a three-point shot for an 11-point cushion, 51-40. McDermott thwarted a 9-2 run by the Eagles with a three-point shot off a pass from Nix with 5:53 to play. The basket sparked a 7-0 spurt by Batts' team as the Pacers held a 60-49 edge with 3:13 remaining.  

For the game, USCA hit 20-of-48 from the floor, including a sizzling eight-of-16 from downtown. The squad connected on 14-of-20 from the charity stripe. Batts' team held a 44-36 edge on the glass and held the lead for 34 minutes of action. The Pacers dished out 11 assists and recorded 30 points off the bench.

The 24-point second quarter marked the 10^th-most points the program has ever recorded in the second frame.

The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they travel to Emmanuel for a game slated to start at 5 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.