USC Aiken women's basketball team falls after Lander's 4th-quarter rally

Jan. 3—LANDER 58, USC AIKEN 48

GREENWOOD — The USC Aiken women's basketball team lost a 58-48 contest at Lander on Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 3-10 on the season, including 0-5 in Peach Belt Conference play.

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Head coach Brittany Batts' team was led by Mackenna Nix's nine points and six rebounds. She also shared team-high honors with Destiny Harman as both had three steals. Monique Emelifeonwu posted seven points, five boards and three blocks while Zenia Palaska netted seven markers.

Nika Kurdija and Makaylei Snyder tallied six points apiece. Kurdija pulled down seven rebounds. Harman added five points while Morgan McDermott and Ioanna Stefanaki had four points apiece. McDermott grabbed five rebounds.

Down 10-8 just over a minute into the second quarter, Nix hit a twisting shot, knotting the score. Emelifeonwu's lay-up at the 8:11 mark pushed the Pacers to a 12-10 lead. Leading 14-13, Snyder found Harman for a three-ball. Just 36 seconds later, Palaska found McDermott for a lay-up, extending the advantage to 19-13 at the 6:01 mark. Nix's lay-up made it 23-16 at the 3:05 mark. Kurdija's free throw with 1:03 to play gave Batts' team a 24-20 edge at the break.

After Lander took a 36-35 lead at the 3:13 mark of the third stanza, an inside bucket by Stefanaki propelled USCA to a one-point margin. Palaska hit two free throws with 2:10 to go before Snyder sliced to the rim for a lay-up, extending the margin to five, 41-36. Nineteen seconds later, Snyder struck again with a pair of charity tosses.

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The Bearcats knotted the score at 43-43 with 5:47 to play, but Stefanaki canned two free throws with 4:35 remaining. Lander took a 50-45 lead, but Snyder found Harman on a backdoor cut to pull within three at the 2:24 mark. However, that was as close as the team could get the rest of the way.

For the game, USCA hit 18-of-43 from the floor (41.9 percent). The team connected on three shots from downtown and made nine-of-14 from the charity stripe. Batts' squad snagged 31 rebounds. The game featured seven ties and numerous lead changes.

The Pacers dished out seven assists and forced 17 miscues. USCA scored 28 points in the paint and had 12 points off miscues.

The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they host Columbus State at 5:30 p.m.