USC-Aiken Slides Past Converse
Spartanburg, SC — USC-Aiken defeated Converse College 77-63 in NCAA Division II Basketball action Saturday afternoon. The All-Stars fall to 1-12 on the season while the Pacers improve to 6-3.
Aiken’s Mindy Allee led all scorers with 21 points on the night. Converse senior Lauren Mueller led the way offensively for the All-Stars with 19 points.
USC-Aiken started off the scoring and maintained a narrow lead for a majority of the first half. But with 8:59 left in the first half, Sydney Brown’s 3-pointer tied the game at 21. Slight mayhem insued as the next 30 seconds saw three turnovers and a missed jumper. Converse would take the lead at 7:52 courtesy of a Mueller jumper. Megan Starnes put back with just over 7 minutes to play tied the game again. Starnes, who had 11 points in the game, scored the go-ahead jumper 30 seconds later.
However, the All-Stars’ Ashley Arff answered back with a three-pointer to give Converse a one point advantage. The Pacers would again quickly reclaim the lead. USC-Aiken used strong rebounding to make good on missed shots and build an eight point half time lead.
In the second half, the All-Stars came out battling. With 16:33 to play in the game, Mueller converted a three point play the old-fashion way to bring Converse within one point at 43-42. However, the All-Stars would manage only one point over the next five minutes. In that time, the Pacers went on a 14-1 run to take control of the game. Converse got within six points with five minutes to play thanks to a 10-3 run, but USC-Aiken proved to have the answer, scoring the next six points. That run would prove to be the difference as the Pacers went on to win by the score of 77-63.
Meredith Legg drained 18 points for the Pacers while Jordan Thomas added 13. Allee and Thomas each had 8 rebounds for the visitors.
For the All-Stars, Kathryn McClain scored 11 points to go with Mueller 19. Brandi Crisitiello recorded 9 rebounds on the afternoon.
Converse will take to the floor tomorrow afternoon for a 2:00 pm bout with West Virginia State. The game will be played at the Weisiger Center at Converse College.
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