AIKEN, SC – Junior guard Mahkayla Premo converted a driving lay-up with 4.2 seconds remaining to lift USC Aiken to a 61-60 win over Francis Marion University, Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 9) in non-conference women's basketball action.
 
Francis Marion (5-2) will continue its four-game road swing with 5:30 p.m. contest at Winston-Salem State University on Thursday.
 
Senior guard Tyra Myers came off the Patriot bench and scored a game-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting.  She also canned 6-of-8 three-point attempts to come within four points of her career high.  Junior guard Uriah Jennings added nine points and a career-high eight rebounds.
 
FMU's leading scorer, sophomore guard Kiara Croskey, was saddled with foul trouble and scored only four points in just 16 minutes of action.
 
Mackenna Nix led USCA (2-6) with 20 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Pacers held a 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, and then held Francis Marion to only seven points in the second period to open a 32-18 halftime advantage.
 
Sparked by a trio of three-pointers from Myers, the Patriots opened the second half with a 14-2 run to trim the deficit to 34-32.  The margin stayed at two points, 42-40, as the two squads headed to the final quarter.
 
The Pacers led by seven, 52-45, with 6:31 left in the contest.  Back-to-back hoops by Myers brought FMU to within 53-51 with 3:11 remaining.  Another three by Myers and a lay-in by Jennings gave Francis Marion its first lead since the first quarter at 56-55 with 2:07 on the clock.
 
A 16-foot jumper by Monique Emelifeonwu with 37 ticks left put USCA back on top at 59-58, but Croskey drained a floater in the lane with 17.8 seconds remaining to regain the advantage at 60-59.  Premo then hit her clinching shot on the following possession.  Following a timeout, FMU did get a potential game-winning attempt in the lane, but it was unsuccessful.
 
For the game, Francis Marion shot 34.8 percent from the floor, but did make 8-of-16 shots from behind the arc.  USC Aiken connected on 41.0 percent of its shots, including 6-of-21 long-range attempts, and was 5-of-11 at the free throw line.
 
FMU outrebounded the Pacers 47-37.