COLUMBUS, Ga. – The USCA women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 67-57 contest at Columbus State Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 7-18 on the season, including 4-13 in PBC play.

Head coach Brittany Batts' squad was paced by Mackenna Nix's double-double effort of 23 points and 12 rebounds. She also tallied five steals and three assists in 32 minutes of work. Zenia Palaska netted 11 points while Mahkayla Premo notched 10 points and five boards to go along with four assists.

Morgan McDermott tallied five points. Destiny Harman added four points and four rebounds. Ioanna Stefanaki chipped in three points while Nika Kurdija had one.

Monique Emelifeonwu swatted eight shots and grabbed four rebounds.

USCA took an early 8-3 lead after back-to-back three-balls from Stefanaki and Palaska. Down 11-8, Premo found Palaska for a three-point bucket, knotting the score with 1:13 to play in the opening quarter.

Nix converted a jumper and drilled a free throw, giving the Pacers a 14-11 edge at the 8:50 mark. Up 14-13, Premo netted a lay-up. A pair of free throws by Nix extended the lead to five, 18-13. CSU took a 22-21 lead on a pair of charity tosses with five ticks on the clock, but Palaska sent Batts' squad into halftime with a 24-22 advantage on a three-point basket.

Batts' team trailed 34-27 before McDermott and Nix hit inside shots with 3:49 to play in the third frame. CSU maintained a 43-32 edge, but Nix connected on an old-fashioned three-point play before the end of the period, making it 43-35.

Trailing 51-39, McDermott hit Palaska and Premo for lay-ups. Nix connected with McDermott for an inside bucket, slicing the deficit to six at the 6:43 mark of the fourth quarter. Down by eight with just over three minutes to play, Nix and McDermott each hit a free throw, once again making it a six-point game. Harman drained a shot from distance off a pass from Premo with 1:52 remaining, cutting the deficit to five, 62-57. However, the Cougars netted the final five points.  

For the game, USCA hit 19-of-55 from the floor, including six-of-25 from downtown. The team drained 13-of-21 from the foul line. Batts' team grabbed 37 rebounds. USCA led for nearly 16 minutes and dished out 12 assists. The team had 12 steals and netted 12 points off turnovers.

The Pacers return home on Saturday to host Lander for Senior Day. Tip-off is slated for 1:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.