AIKEN, S.C. – The USCA women's basketball team lost a hard fought 69-64 contest to Columbus State Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 5-18 overall, including 2-11 in PBC play.

Head coach Mark Miller's team was led by Serena Baker's team-best 21 points. She also added six rebounds. Destiny Harman connected for 13 points while Rhiannon Saller had a tremendous effort with 10 points and a game-best 14 rebounds. Kendall Parker totaled eight points and seven rebounds while Paris Webster notched seven points, five boards and three assists.

Trailing 11-5, Riley Simmons nailed a three-point basket with 3:21 to go.Saller canned a jumper in the lane at the 2:27 mark, pulling the team within one. Down 13-10, Saller connected on a jumper before a three-point basket from Harman propelled the Pacers to a 15-13 lead heading into the second stanza.

Miller's squad extended the advantage to 22-13. Up 15-13, Webster hit a free throw. Harman nailed a jumper before Baker and Parker hit two charity shots apiece for the nine-point cushion. The Pacers extended the margin to 10 on Baker's shot in the lane. However, the Cougars managed to knot the game at 30-30 with 28 ticks on the clock. USCA found itself down 32-30, but Baker hit two free throws with 11 seconds to go, sending the game into a tie at intermission, 32-32.

CSU held a 39-36 advantage before Parker hit a pair of free throws at the 3:44 mark. Harman buried a three-point shot, giving Miller's team a 41-39 lead. Down 42-41, Parker connected on a jumper in the lane. With 21 seconds remaining in the frame, Harman hit a short basket for a three-point margin going into the fourth quarter.

The Cougars managed to take a 58-51 lead at the 4:48 mark, but USCA made it a four-point contest a moment later when Saller hit a jumper. The visitors continued to maintain the six-point cushion and the Pacers whittled it to four points four more times, but could get no closer in the game.

For the game, USCA hit 22-of-67 (38.6 percent) from the floor, including four-of-20 (20.0 percent) from downtown. The team canned 16-of-19 (84.2 percent) from the charity stripe. Miller's squad recorded 17 assists and pulled down 47 rebounds. USCA also registered 23 points off the bench.

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