#20 USCA UNABLE TO RALLY FROM DEEP HOLE
LADY PACERS LOSE FOR JUST SECOND TIME IN LAST 16 HOME GAMES
AIKEN, S.C.-- Unable to find their shooting touch all night, the 20th-ranked USC Aiken Lady Pacers (3-1, 1-1 PBC) dropped a 71-59 decision to Augusta State (2-1, 1-0 PBC) on Wednesday evening in women’s Peach Belt Conference basketball at the Convocation Center. The loss was the first-ever by a USC Aiken athletic team in the brand new arena as Augusta State halted a two-game losing streak to the Lady Pacers. (PHOTO BY: Ginny Southworth)
As part of a two-week long “Community Coat Drive” that ended with the game tonight, USC Aiken announced a total of 106 coats collected. They are being donated to ACTS of Aiken to help the less fortunate throughout the community.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half as USC Aiken missed its first seven shots from the field until Satu Leppanen’s jumper with 15:58 on the clock got the Lady Pacers on the board at 4-2. The junior forward finished with seven points, all coming in the opening stanza.
Leading 16-15 following a Leppanen three-pointer with 5:50 left in the half, Augusta State went on a 10-2 run capped off by Sherika Parker’s lay-up with 2:59 remaining to lead 25-18. Megan Starnes drained a triple with 1:05 on the clock to set the halftime margin at 27-23.
Following a first half that saw both teams shoot under 34 percent from the field, Augusta State found their mark coming out of the locker room for the final frame. The Lady Jaguars connected on 11 of their first 15 shot attempts while USCA was conversely just 2-of-15 to build a 55-29 bulge thanks to a 28-6 run.
The run proved to be one from which USC Aiken could not recover. Down 60-40 after Porsha White’s three-point play with 4:44 on the clock, the Lady Pacers used a 15-4 run to climb within single digits at 64-55 with 1:05 to play. Deo Ngulela, however, was 6-of-6 at the stripe to close out the 71-59 victory.
Ngulela finished with a game-high 16 points on 10-of-10 at the stripe to go with five assists. Jasmine Godwin added 14 points on 3-of-4 from deep while White chipped in 10. Parker collected 12 rebounds as Augusta State dominated the glass 48-37.
Avonte Williams poured in all 14 of her points in the second half to lead USC Aiken while Meredith Legg and Starnes finished with 14 and 11 points respectively. Reigning PBC Player of the Week Morgan Johnson struggled to a 1-of-6 outing for three points and nine rebounds.
As a team, USC Aiken shot just 30.8 percent from the field and 7-of-28 from downtown. Augusta State heated up to 46.4 percent over the final 20 minutes, but still finished just under 40 percent for the contest.
USC Aiken will look to rebound against Armstrong Atlantic State on Saturday, December 1 at 5:30 PM at the Convocation Center. Augusta State, fresh off back-to-back wins over ranked teams, will host Georgia College & State, also on Saturday at 5:30 PM.
Newspaper Box Score
Augusta State vs USC Aiken
11/28/07 5:30 PM at Aiken, S.C. (Convocation Center)
AUGUSTA STATE 71, USC AIKEN 59
AUGUSTA STATE (2-1, 1-0 PBC)
Ngulela, Deo 3-4 10-10 16; Godwin, Jasmine 5-8 1-2 14; White, Porsha 4-6 2-3 10; Mealing, Nicole 3-7 0-0 9; Parker, Sherika 3-8 0-0 6; Sheppard, Kenisha 3-4 0-0 6; Jarrard, Brittany 0-7 3-4 3; Jackson, Sonya 1-2 1-3 3; Wells, Adah 1-8 0-0 2; Paschal, Tracey 1-7 0-0 2; Lampkin, Stacey 0-0 0-2 0; Hudson, Brittany 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 17-24 71.
USC AIKEN (3-1, 1-1 PBC)
Legg, Meredith 6-16 0-0 14; Williams, Avonte 4-10 5-5 14; Starnes, Megan 4-10 0-0 11; Leppanen, Satu 3-9 0-0 7; Pinkney, Nakia 0-2 4-5 4; Thomas, Jordon 2-5 0-0 4; Johnson, Morgan 1-6 1-1 3; Crapps, Cameron 0-0 2-2 2; Disney, Megan 0-1 0-0 0; Norman, Marissa 0-1 0-0 0; Harris, Triahna 0-0 0-0 0; Meyer, Sarah 0-5 0-0 0; Broadwater, LaToshia 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-65 12-13 59.
Augusta State............... 27 44 - 71
USC Aiken..................... 23 36 - 59
3-point goals--Augusta State 6-15 (Mealing, Nicole 3-6; Godwin, Jasmine 3-4; Jarrard, Brittany 0-4; Jackson, Sonya 0-1), USC Aiken 7-28 (Starnes, Megan 3-6; Legg, Meredith 2-11; Leppanen, Satu 1-1; Williams, Avonte 1-4; Meyer, Sarah 0-4; Pinkney, Nakia 0-2). Fouled out--Augusta State-None, USC Aiken-Williams, Avonte. Rebounds--Augusta State 48 (Parker, Sherika 12), USC Aiken 37 (Johnson, Morgan 9). Assists--Augusta State 15 (Jackson, Sonya 7), USC Aiken 15 (Harris, Triahna 5). Total fouls--Augusta State 15, USC Aiken 20. Technical fouls--Augusta State-None, USC Aiken-None. A-1328