RALEIGH, NC – The William Peace University women's basketball team was back at the Hermann Athletic Center Wednesday night against Averett University, where the Pacers dug themselves an early hole they weren't able to climb out of.

WPU faced an 18-point, 27-9, deficit a minute into the second quarter. The Pacers outscored Averett by eight (45-37) the rest of the way but couldn't come any closer than seven points a few minutes into the third, as the Cougars went  on to a 64-54 win.

Alexis Armstrong was a rebound shy of a double-double, leading the Pacers (6-13, 0-10 USAS) with 11 points nine boards, two assists and a blocked shot. Cassidy Clark registered double figures for the second straight game scoring 10 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Freshman Hannah Ericksen flirted with her third double-double of the season, adding nine points, 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks in 22 minutes off the bench.

"We got off to a slow start offensively, which really hurt us. I thought we got good looks but just didn't hit the shots," said head coach Kelly Johnson. "I thought we did some good things defensively and played hard, but we're still making some of the same old mistakes, so we have to get over that." 

It was an evenly played game for the most part with both teams posting slightly better than 30% nights from the field. WPU finished 23-of-73(31.5%) and the Cougars finished 25-of-75(33.3%), but Samm Chandler's three-pointer to open the game may have offered a bit of foreshadowing, because it was long-distance shooting that ultimately made the difference. Averett went 7-of-26(26.9%) from deep, while the Pacers only shot 2-of-12(16.7%).

Jessica Myers hit four of those three-pointers, as she led Averett (10-8, 5-5 USAS) with 15 points, five assists to a single turnover, four rebounds, three steals. Frida Lundquist had herself a night off the bench with 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Chandler, the leading scorer in the USA South at 18.3 per contest, was held well below her average with eight points, but she also contributed seven boards, three assists, a block and two steals.

The WPU women's basketball team travels down south for a pair of games this weekend. The Pacers take on Huntingdon this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. before turning around the next day for a 1:00 p.m. game at LaGrange.   

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