PBC CHAMPIONS! USCA EARNS SHARE OF THIRD LEAGUE TITLE
LADY PACERS NOTCH SECOND-STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASON WITH 83-71 WIN AT GCSU
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga.--Senior Avonte Williams led five Lady Pacers in double figures as USC Aiken (20-7, 13-7 PBC) rolled by Georgia College & State University (13-14, 8-12 PBC) 83-71 in women’s Peach Belt Conference basketball action on Sunday afternoon at the Centennial Center. With the victory, USC Aiken finished tied for first in the PBC standings, earning a share of the program’s third PBC Regular Season Championship, but first since 2001-02. (PHOTO BY: Scott Webster)
Sitting at 6-6 and in seventh place in the league standings following a 77-65 loss at Armstrong Atlantic State on February 2, the Lady Pacers kicked it into another gear. USC Aiken won eight of their final nine games, all by double figures, to finish 13-7 and in a five-way tie for first place. Despite the co-champions label, the Lady Pacers are still looking for respect in the NCAA regional poll, hoping to move up from 10th place.
It is the second-straight 20-win season for sixth-year head coach Mike Brandt, and the seventh in the program’s 32-year history.
USC Aiken took control early, using a 12-2 run to turn a two-point deficit into a 16-8 advantage on a pair of free throws by Satu Leppanen with 12:50 left in the opening half. Leppanen finished with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Despite battling an injury herself, the junior from Finland has been pushed into more action with the absence of starting center Morgan Johnson.
Dominique Huffin drained a three-pointer at the 11:06 mark to end a nearly four-minute scoring drought for GCSU. The PBC Freshman of the Year candidate finished with 14 points and six rebounds, but struggled to a 2-of-10 from long range performance.
Back-to-back buckets by Ashley Williams pulled the Lady Bobcats with five at 27-22 with 4:18 left in the half, but USC Aiken scored 11 of the final 13 points to take a commanding 38-24 lead at the break.
Williams, one of five GCSU seniors playing their final game at the Centennial Center, finished with a team-best 18 points to go with six boards.
Avonte Williams poured in 16 of her game-high 22 points in the first stanza, finishing 8-of-11 from the field to go with six rebounds. With her second-straight 20-point game, the surging senior is averaging 14.9 ppg over the last eight games.
The Lady Bobcats inched back into it in the first six minutes of the second half, drawing within single digits at 49-40 with 14:19 on the clock on Elicia Lynch’s three-pointer, but Megan Starnes countered with a trey of her own on the ensuing trip down the floor, igniting a 17-7 run in which eight different Lady Pacers scored.
Meredith Legg capped off the run with a trey with 7:10 left to give USC Aiken its largest lead of the game 66-47 as the Lady Bobcats would never threaten again. Legg finished with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting while Starnes added 10. Senior Jordon Thomas chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, with 11 coming in the final frame.
After a modest 45.2 percent shooting in the first half, USC Aiken shot a sizzling 73.9 percent over the final 20 minutes connecting on 17-of-23 attempts. It is the fifth time in the last nine games the Lady Pacers have shot over 50.0 percent from the field.
GCSU did hold a 17-11 edge in turnovers, but the Lady Pacers won the battle of the boards 38-30.
USC Aiken will return home to host the 2008 PBC Tournament at the Convocation Center next week, a place where the Lady Pacers have won seven-straight and are 13-2 on the season. Due to a series of complex tiebreakers, USCA will be the fifth seed and will take on fourth-seeded Lander on Thursday, March 6 in the last quarterfinal match-up at 7:00 PM. Lander swept the Lady Pacers during the regular season including an 83-78 decision in Aiken on January 23.
Newspaper Box Score
USC Aiken vs GCSU
03/02/08 2:00 PM at Milledgeville, Ga. (Centennial Center)
USC AIKEN 83, GCSU 71
USC AIKEN (20-7, 13-7 PBC)
Williams, Avonte 8-11 6-6 22; Legg, Meredith 6-13 2-2 16; Thomas, Jordon 5-7 4-5 14; Leppanen, Satu 4-8 2-2 10; Starnes, Megan 4-9 0-0 10; Broadwater, LaToshia 3-3 0-0 6; Harris, Triahna 1-2 2-2 4; Pinkney, Nakia 0-0 1-2 1; Crapps, Cameron 0-0 0-0 0; Meyer, Sarah 0-1 0-0 0; Norman, Marissa 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-54 17-19 83.
GCSU (13-14, 8-12 PBC)
Williams, Ashley 8-19 2-2 18; Huffin, Dominique 5-14 2-3 14; Baker, Jessica 4-7 2-2 11; Bixler, Emily 4-9 1-1 10; Lynch, Elicia 3-8 2-2 9; Royster, Christina 1-4 2-4 4; Smith, Lindsey 1-3 0-0 2; Harrison, Shawana 1-1 0-0 2; Wimbish, Tonisha 0-0 1-2 1; Herndon, Katie 0-0 0-0 0; Dudish, Mandi 0-3 0-0 0; Brantley, Tiauna 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 27-72 12-16 71.
USC Aiken.................. 38 45 - 83
GCSU.......................... 24 47 - 71
3-point goals--USC Aiken 4-9 (Legg, Meredith 2-5; Starnes, Megan 2-2; Leppanen, Satu 0-1; Williams, Avonte 0-1), GCSU 5-25 (Huffin, Dominique 2-10; Lynch, Elicia 1-5; Baker, Jessica 1-3; Bixler, Emily 1-3; Dudish, Mandi 0-3; Royster, Christina 0-1). Fouled out--USC Aiken-None, GCSU-None. Rebounds--USC Aiken 38 (Thomas, Jordon 8), GCSU 30 (Williams, Ashley 6; Huffin, Dominique 6). Assists--USC Aiken 17 (Pinkney, Nakia 3; Leppanen, Satu 3; Starnes, Megan 3), GCSU 18 (Smith, Lindsey 5). Total fouls--USC Aiken 17, GCSU 17. Technical fouls--USC Aiken-None, GCSU-None. A-989.
BOXSCORE