The Armstrong Atlantic State women's basketball team knocked off its first ranked team of the season in picking up a 66-53 Peach Belt Conference victory over visiting No. 7 USC Aiken on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena.
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The Lady Pirates (6-1, 2-0 PBC) have now defeated at least one nationally-ranked team in nine consecutive seasons, dating back to 2000-01. USC Aiken (6-2, 0-1 PBC) dropped its second game in a row after falling to No. 16 Wingate earlier in the week.
Both teams played a very even first half, entering intermission tied at 28-28. The Lady Pacers took a quick 32-28 lead after halftime on back-to-back baskets by Megan Starnes and Satu Leppanen. A quick 30-second time out taken by head coach Matt Schmidt settled down the Lady Pirates, then AASU embarked on a 14-2 run to take a 10-point lead, 44-34, on Lacey Willis' jumper.
USC Aiken cut the lead to four, 57-53, on a Megan Starnes jumper with 40 seconds left, but AASU made six straight free throws to preserve the victory.
Willis led all scorers on the day with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. She also added a game-high 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Portia Jones came off the bench to record 11 points and Dartayvia Thomas added 10 for the Lady Pirates.
USC Aiken was led by Starnes' 15 points. Morgan Johnson and Meredith Legg added 11 points apiece and Leppanen chipped in 10 points.
AASU will now break for final exams, then return to action on Friday, December 19, as the Lady Pirates take on No. 16 Wingate in the 2008 Chatham Orthopaedics Holiday Classic at 6:00 p.m.
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