RALEIGH, NC – The William Peace University women's basketball team got off to a hot start Tuesday night, but the Pacers went cold after the first quarter, as Meredith pulled away in the second half to win, 62-47.

WPU (5-7, 0-4 USAS) jumped ahead 20-12 after the first quarter, going 42% from the field on 8-of-19 shooting,  but the Pacers only scored two points in the second and trailed 25-22 at the break. Trailing 32-27 midway through the third, Susannah Sykes drilled a three followed by a bucket from Brittany Boykin that evened the score with 4:31 left in the quarter. Meredith answered with an 11-0 run over the next four minutes though, and the Pacers never recovered.  

"We didn't shoot the ball very well. After the first quarter we stood around too much on offense and didn't get as many offensive rebounds as we should have against the zone," said head coach Kelly Johnson. "It's the little things that count in rivalry games, and hats off to [Meredith]…they outplayed us, outshot us and did all those little things you have to do in order to win."

The Pacers finished the game 19-of-76 (25%) from the field and only 4-of-8 from the free-throw line. Meredith shot 40.4% (21-of-52) from the field and went 15-of-24 (62.5%) at the stripe. WPU did force the Avenging Angels to cough it up 26 times and only turned it over nine times themselves, but Meredith dominated the glass, out-rebound the Pacers, 61-35.

Sykes and Boykin both finished in double-figures for the Pacers. Sykes posted 14 points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while Boykin scored 13 to go along with three boards, five assists and four steals. Alexis Armstrong scored six points and brought down seven boards. Cassidy Clark chipped in with six points, two rebounds and two steals.

Jessi Hayes led the way for Meredith with a double-double of 17 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and a steal. Raven Gregory also posted a double-double, scoring 14 and grabbing 11 boards.

The WPU women's basketball team will be back at the Hermann Athletic Center this weekend for games against Covenant and Maryville. The Pacers host Covenant Friday at 5:30 p.m., followed by Maryville Saturday at 4:00 p.m. 

Video coverage and live stats will be available throughout the weekend with Patrick Johnson on the call for the Pacers' Basketball Network.

For the latest news and updates from William Peace University Athletics, please visit: http://gopeacepacers.com/.