AIKEN, S.C. --- The University of South Carolina Aiken defeated Tusculum University 55-52 in non-conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon.
The Pacers (3-8) trailed by 13 points in the first quarter but took the lead by halftime, then nearly let a nine-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter to the Pioneers (1-9) before holding on.
Makaylei Snyder led USC Aiken with 13 points off the bench, with 12 points from Ioanna Stefanski. The Pacers shot just 27.6 percent (16-for-58) from the field and 16-for-27 (59.3 percent) from the foul line, but scored 21 points off 22 Tusculum turnovers.
Abbi Douglas led the Pioneers with 13 points and had seven rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench, with 12 points from Angela Gomez. Dora Van Rijs pulled 14 rebounds for the Pioneers, who had a 43-39 advantage on the glass over the Pacers but permitted USC Aiken to grab 21 offensive boards.
Tusculum had a 20-7 lead late in the first quarter, but USC Aiken used a 13-0 run to turn a 24-14 deficit into a 27-24 lead late in the first half.
The Pioneers trailed 27-26 at intermission with Gomez leading the way with eight points and six from Douglas. Snyder led the Pacers with nine points in the opening half as USC Aiken shot 24.1 percent (7-for-29) from the field but was 9-for-13 at the foul line, compared to 0-for-2 for Tusculum.
The Pioneers took their final lead of the game on a layup by Julia Szwichtenberg with 4:00 left in the third quarter, only to see the Pacers run off nine straight points to build a 40-34 lead after three.
Both teams went more than four minutes without a field goal midway through the fourth quarter as Tusculum crept within 47-42 on two foul shots from Ema Nagyova with 2:37 left. Douglas would sink two free throws with 32 seconds to play to cut the deficit to 51-49, and Gomez made a pair with 5.2 seconds left to leave Tusculum trailing 54-52. Zenia Palaska went 1-for-2 at the line with 4.1 seconds left to give the Pioneers a chance for the tie, but a three-pointer from Nagyova was off-target with one second left.
Nagyova finished with eight points with Szwichtenberg tallying four points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Van Rijs had four points, three blocks and three steals to go along with her 14 rebounds in 29 minutes, and Martina Garofalo added six points for the Pioneers.
Monique Emelifeonwu had a team-high 12 rebounds for USC Aiken and added six points, four assists, three steals and four blocks in 38 minutes of playing time. Mackenna Nix and Morgan McDermott had six points each for the Pacers, who finished with 16 turnovers as a team.
Tusculum will return to action with its final non-conference game of the season on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at Young Harris, beginning at 2 p.m. The Mountain Lions defeated the Pioneers 72-48 in the first meeting of the season between the teams on Nov. 19 at Pioneer Arena.
