Raleigh, NC - Peace College used a strong offensive performance by three guards to blow past Methodist University 75-69 on Thursday night in USA South Conference action. Methodist, riding high after a lopsided victory of Averett University, came into the contest in contention for making a late push for the conference crown, but Peace would dampen the Monarchs dream of rising to the top of the conference standings.

Peace was led by a trio of offensive weapons. Point guard Christy Freeman led all scorers with twenty points, half which came from the free throw line. Fellow guards Amanda Cross and LeAnne Horne pitched in fifteen and thirteen points respectively. Cross, who posted her season high in scoring, hit 66% of her shots from beyond the three point arc on the evening, while Horne also pulled down seven rebounds to go with her scoring output.

The Pacers started out in a hole as the Monarchs came out of the tip with a 6-0 scoring run to start things off. Peace quickly responded. Brittany Lynn hit a jumper to put the Pacers up by a point after Lynn and Cross led their team on a 7-0 run. The two teams would exchange points from then on until Methodist went on another scoring run. The Monarchs ripped off eight straight points to give the visitors a 20-12 lead half way through the first half. Peace would fire back and managed to cut the Methodist lead down to five before the Pacers ended the half on a 10-1 run to give them a three point lead at 35-32 heading into the half.

Freeman exploded in the second half. Besides her pin-point accuracy from the field, she also drained a seasons worth of free throws down the stretch. Peace led by as many as fifteen points with 8-minutes remaining in the game before they gave the Monarchs a little room to cheer. Methodist would chip into the Pacer lead, but could not get any closer than six points and at that point it was too little too late. Freeman and Cross would be the only two Pacers to score during the last four minutes of the game for the home team. The result was a six point victory for the Pacers and their second conference win of the season.

The Pacers improved to 8-13 overall (2-9 USA South) while the Monarchs fell to 12-9 (6-5 USA South). The Pacers will relax for a day before they have to make the short two mile drive over to in-town rival Meredith College on Saturday. Peace defeated the Angels earlier in the season 64-46 in the Hermann Center, but the two teams have split the series for the past few years, but the Pacers will look to sweep the rivalry this season. Tip off is slated for 2:00 PM on the campus of Meredith College.