Pacers keep their home fire burningSubheadusc aiken women 64,

AIKEN -- If the USC Aiken Lady Pacers ever learn to win on the road, they' ll be a monster.

For now, though, USC Aiken will have to fall back on doing what it does best - defend its home floor.

Nola Grant scored a team-high 16 points as the Lady Pacers remained perfect at The Courthouse with a 64-54 win Saturday over Armstrong Atlantic State in a Peach Belt Conference contest.

"It's our house," Grant said. "We're here every morning for practices, and we're here for games. We're here more than we're at our dorms. We're not cocky here. Just confident."

USC Aiken believed in itself enough to overcome a 1-for-15 performance from long range. The Lady Pacers took advantage of the Lady Pirates' soft interior defense with easy layups and also frustrated Armstrong Atlantic State with their own defense.

USC Aiken forced 28 turnovers and held the Lady Pirates to their lowest offensive output of the season. In the second half, Kasey Mills recorded four of her six steals. Mindy Allee broke up a pair of fast-break attempts. The Lady Pacers also took a handful of charges.

"We basically talked at halftime about playing good, smart, solid defense," USC Aiken coach Mike Brandt said. "We're quicker than people give us credit for."

The Lady Pacers (16-7, 6-3) improved to 11-0 at home and has not lost in Aiken since Feb. 28, 2004.

Mills and Lana Mandic each scored 13 points as the Lady Pacers remained atop the Peach Belt North Division, 11 games over Augusta State and Lander.

USC Aiken, ranked eighth in the South Atlantic Region, now has two wins over the poll's top six teams. Should the Lady Pacers defeat Kennesaw State at home Monday, they will most likely move closer to their goal of finishing the regular season as one of the region's top five teams - three conference tournament champions and five at-large teams advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

"Every day we talk about how every game is the most important one," Mills said. "We don't want to have to rely on the conference tournament."

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.