AIKEN, S.C. – The USCA women's basketball team lost a 62-57 decision to Belmont Abbey Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 1-4 on the season while the visitors improve to 5-1.

Head coach Brittany Batts' team was led by Mackenna Nix's game-high 18 points. Monique Emelifeonwu added 13 points and six blocks while Ioanna Stefanaki contributed 11 points. Morgan McDermott totaled seven points while Nika Kurdija added four. Zenia Palaska and Mahkayla Premo chipped in two points each.

Premo pulled down seven rebounds while Stefanaki had five. Kurdija posted four assists and a game-high four steals.

In the first quarter, USCA jumped out to a quick 9-2 advantage. Stefanaki buried a three-ball to get the scoring going. Up 3-2, Emelifeonwu converted an inside shot. Stefanaki canned a jumper before Palaska rebounded her own miss and laid it up and in for the seven-point cushion with 4:29 to play in the first quarter. A lay-up by Nix pushed the score to 11-4 before the Crusaders hit a near halfcourt shot at the buzzer, making it 11-7.

Down 20-12, McDermott drained a three-point shot off a pass from Palaska at the 3:55 mark. A jumper from McDermott pulled the team within three. Trailing 24-19, Kurdija scored the final four points of the half, closing the gap to 24-23 at the break.  

Stefanaki and Emelifeonwu hit three-point shots, tying the contest at 31-31 at the 5:46 mark of the third period. Kurdija hit Stefanaki for a three-ball, giving the Pacers a 34-31 advantage just 23 seconds later. The back-and-forth affair saw the Crusaders hold a 42-41 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Nix scored the first four points of the final stanza for a 45-42 edge. Emelifeonwu's jumper off a pass from Premo pushed the margin to 50-45 with 5:46 to play. BAC hit a three-point bucket to make it 55-52 with 2:27 to go and Batts' team pulled within two on a pair of occasions, but that was as close as the team get the rest of the way.

For the game, USCA hit 21-of-55 from the floor (38.2 percent), including six-of-20 (30.0 percent) from downtown. The team hit nine-of-14 (64.3 percent) from the charity stripe. The team scored 24 points in the paint and had 20 off turnovers.

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