PEMBROKE – The nationally-ranked No. 21 Pacers shot 54.2 percent from the field en route to handing the UNCP women's basketball team a 71-56 loss, as the Lady Braves said farewell to four seniors on Saturday afternoon at the English E. Jones Center.

Seniors Courtney Bolton, Taylor Gallentine, Amelia Partin and Jasmine Hairston played their final game in a UNCP (11-15, 5-12 PBC) uniform on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Braves finish the season in fifth place of the Peach Belt Conference East Division standings. The Pacers (20-6, 13-6) completed the regular-season sweep of the Black and Gold, and improve to 34-13 all-time against UNCP.

Gallentine and Jazmine Kemp totaled a team-high 10 points apiece, while Hairston added eight points for the UNCP offense. Kemp and Kierra Haney led the Black and Gold defense, pulling down five rebounds each. The Lady Braves finished the contest with 10 steals, and a season-low four turnovers. Gallentine grabbed four steals, while fellow senior Partin contributed two steals. Rounding out the senior day effort, Bolton finished with three points, two assists and a steal. 

The Pacers were led by the double-double effort from Brittany Hill, who recorded 13 rebounds, 11 points and seven blocked shots. USC Aiken had three other athletes score in double digits, including a game-high 19 points from Porsha Martin. Daniela Tarailo and Tiffani Moody closed out the double figure day with 18 points and 12 points, respectively. The Pacers used a strong rebounding advantage, 45-24, to turn back the Lady Braves. 

"We struggled defensively today, we gave them too many easy shot. Even in second half, when we did a better job protecting shots, our defense just wasn't too good, they hurt us on boards. Offensively, we only had 4 turnovers, so there were some things that were decent, but defensive rebounds let us down," said UNCP head coach John Haskins. "I appreciated the effort of the four seniors today, we're going to miss them."

USC Aiken led the Lady Braves by five coming into the second half. The Pacers started the final 20 minutes with an offensive surge, quickly stretching their lead to double digits, 42-31, after and 8-1 run. A triple from Tarailo gave USC Aiken a 15-point advantage, 57-42, with under ten minutes remaining in the contest. Kamille Horne drained a trey with seven seconds left, before Kassy Johannsen made a layup for the Pacers, to solidify the Pacer win, 71-56.

The first half remained close, until USC Aiken pulled ahead by six, 19-15, after a free throw from Martin. The Pacers closed out the first half on a 10-5 run, sparked by a layup from Tarailo, to take a 34-29 advantage into the intermission. 

To watch the full game click HERE.