WILSON, N.C. – The USCA women's basketball team lost a 60-52 decision at Barton Wednesday afternoon in the final non-conference contest of the regular season.

The Pacers are now 3-9 on the season.

Head coach Brittany Batts' team was guided by Mackenna Nix's 18-point, nine-rebound effort. Monique Emelifeonwu posted eight points and 11 rebounds while Nika Kurdija added eight points and three rebounds. Makaylei Snyder totaled seven points while Morgan McDermott tallied five markers. Megan Jacoby nailed a three-ball. Ioanna Stefanaki chipped in two points while Zenia Palaska added one point and four rebounds.

Down 6-2, Kurdija canned a jumper with 3:27 to go in the first quarter. Facing an 11-4 deficit, Mahkayla Premo found Nix for a lay-up. Nix connected on a free throw and a lay-up before McDermott tied the game at 11-11 with 39 seconds to play in the stanza.

Nix opened the second frame with a jumper, tying the game at 13-13. Nix hit a pair of shots off passes from Premo and Emelifeonwu, pulling the visitors within one at 18-17. However, the Bulldogs held USCA without a field goal for five-plus minutes and maintained a 28-20 advantage at the break.

Batts' team opened the second half with a 7-0 spurt behind a lay-up from Snyder, a three-ball from Kurdija and an inside bucket from Emelifeonwu, making it 28-27 with 6:34 to go. Down 32-27, Emelifeonwu hit a lay-up. Nix found Snyder for a shot from downtown, knotting the score at 32-32 at the 5:03 mark. Trailing 40-36, Kurdija buried two free throws with 1:37 to play, but the Bulldogs netted the final four points for a 44-38 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Barton scored the first nine points of the fourth before Snyder's jumper broke the drought at the 5:43 mark. Stefanaki found McDermott for a three-point basket, trimming the deficit to 10, 43-53.  Facing a 13-point deficit, Nix hit four free throws. Down 58-47, Jacoby nailed a shot from downtown before Nix hit two more charity tosses with 51 ticks on the clock, bringing the Pacers within six, 58-52. However, the team could get no closer.

For the game, USCA hit 18-of-57 from the floor and buried four shots from downtown. The team canned 12-of-20 from the charity stripe. Batts' squad pulled down 43 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive glass. The Pacers dished out 10 assists and scored nine points on the break. USCA forced 19 turnovers and accounted for 20 points off the miscues.

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they travel to Lander for a 1:30 p.m., contest. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.