ST. AUGUSTINE—
Sadie Russell recorded a season-high 21 points while
Jaziana Mathis and
Tori Pearce posted 20 and 19 respectively to help guide Flagler College to 93-87 win over the University of South Carolina
at Aiken in a Peach Belt Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Flagler Gymnasium.
With the win, Flagler improves to 9-5 overall and 3-1 in the Peach Belt. USC Aiken dropped to 4-7 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
"I thought USC Aiken is a really good team who found a way to get back in the game multiple times." said head coach
Mo Smith. "I thought we played well in segments and I was proud of how we finished the game."
Taylor Gardner opened the second quarter for the Saints with a three-pointer to extend the lead to five (28-23). That would jumpstart a 20-10 quarter for Flagler in which five different players would score for Flagler.
In the third quarter, the Saints extended the lead to as large as 15 (52-37), however the Pacers refused to be put away. USC Aiken would go on an 18-8 run, shooting 50 percent during the stretch. The lead was cut to five before
Tori Pearce hit a transition layup and drew a foul to give Flagler a six-point edge headed into the fourth quarter.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, Emily Trushel would hit a layup to give the Pacers a one-point edge. Less than 10 second later, Mathis would respond with a three of her own and Flagler would never look back.
Pearce led the Saints with six assists while Russell and Gardner each grabbed six rebounds.
Sophie VanDyke blocked three shots. The Saints shot a season-best 55.4 percent from the field.
The Pacers were led by Chidinma Okafor, who posted a career-high 31 points on 14-31 from the field to go along with nine rebounds. Jentri Worley contributed 16 points, six rebounds and tallied six assists.
Flagler will look for its tenth win of the 2021-
2022 campaign when they welcome the Lady Hurricanes of Georgia Southwestern State University on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at Flagler Gymnasium.
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