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FLORENCE, SC – Over the final 20 minutes, fourteenth-ranked USC Aiken took advantage of a cold-shooting Francis Marion University squad to pull away for a 59-47 win, Wednesday night (Jan. 4) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

The Patriots (5-5, 1-3) saw their three-game winning streak snapped, while USCA improved to 10-1 and 3-0 with its ninth straight victory.  FMU will play host to fifth-ranked and defending NCAA Division II national champions Clayton State University on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

Freshman forward Chelsey Johnson led Francis Marion with eight points, while T.T. Belcher, Brittany Christian, Carmella Thompson, and Kristen Dickerson all added seven points.

The Patriots played without their second-leading scorer, guard Emilee Dunton (10.4 ppg) who sat out the game with an illness.

Forwards Kayla Harris and Hannah DeGraffinreed led USCA with 13 points apiece, while guard Daniela Tarailo registered 12 points and nine rebounds.

A tightly fought first half featured three ties and three lead changes with the largest margin being five points.  USCA held that advantage at 24-19 following a free throw by Brittan Hill.  However, Francis Marion outscored the Pacers 6-1 over the final 2:20 of the stanza to forge a 25-25 deadlock at intermission.

A 9-3 spurt to open the second stanza gave the Pacers a 34-28 lead with 15:58 remaining.  The margin would swell to 46-36 with 7:48 left after two free throws by Hill.  A jump shot by Johnson pulled FMU to within 49-43 with 5:09 on the clock, but that would be as close as the Patriots would get.  Harris and DeGraffinreed combined to score the next eight Pacer points as the advantage grew to 57-46.  The final score represented the largest lead of the contest.

After shooting 43.5 percent in the opening half, Francis Marion cooled to 25 percent (7-of-28) over the final 20 minutes. 

1-4-12 5:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
#14 USC AIKEN 59, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 47

USC AIKEN (#14 10-1, 3-0)
Hannah DeGraffinreed 4-6 5-8 13; Kayla Harris 4-8 5-7 13; Daniela Tarailo
4-12 2-2 12; Emily O'Rourke 3-4 1-2 7; Lindsay Sundberg 2-5 0-0 5; Brittany
Hill 0-3 3-6 3; Mia Antoine 1-5 0-0 3; Brittany Bowen 1-2 0-0 3; Porsha
Martin 0-0 0-0 0; Mackenize Reese 0-1 0-0 0; Tiffani Moody 0-0 0-0 0. Totals
19-46 16-25 59.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (5-5 , 1-3 PBC)
Chelsey Johnson 3-10 2-4 8; Carmella Thompson 1-6 4-6 7; Brittany Christian
3-12 0-2 7; T.T. Belcher 3-6 1-2 7; Kristen Dickerson 3-6 1-2 7; Simone
Trice 1-4 3-3 5; Daphne Walker 2-4 0-2 4; Hattie Harris 1-2 0-0 2; Danielle
Gibson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-51 11-21 47.
Halftime: USC Aiken 25 Francis Marion 25
3-point goals--USC Aiken 5-13 (Daniela Tarailo 2-4; Lindsay Sundberg 1-3;
Mia Antoine 1-2; Brittany Bowen 1-2; Brittany Hill 0-1; Kayla Harris 0-1),
Francis Marion University 2-5 (Carmella Thompson 1-3; Brittany Christian
1-2). Fouled out--USC Aiken-None, Francis Marion University-None.
Rebounds--USC Aiken 35 (Daniela Tarailo 9), Francis Marion University 34
(T.T. Belcher 7). Assists--USC Aiken 12 (Brittany Hill 6), Francis Marion
University 13 (Carmella Thompson 5). Total fouls--USC Aiken 15, Francis
Marion University 21. Technical fouls--None. A-107