Buena Vista, VA - The Southern Virginia University women's basketball team emerged victorious in the first round of the USA South Tournament, defeating William Peace by a score of 83-43. The victory also gave Head Coach Lynette Schroeder her 100th victory with the Knights, becoming just the second coach in program history to accomplish the feat.

Southern Virginia got down to business in the opening quarter, jumping out to a 12-0 lead. Alyssa Weiland was effective on both sides of the ball, scoring the game's first three points and recording a couple of steals in the process. The Knights' leading scorer, Abigail Snyder, nailed two shots from beyond the arc to continue her impressive season from deep. Makayla Patterson also made both of her shots off the bench and helped her team to a 21-7 lead by the end of the opening frame.

Coach Schroeder's squad carried their momentum through the rest of the half, getting quality minutes from their second unit as well. Camilla Norton caught fire from the perimeter, connecting on two threes to help the Knights to 42-21 lead at the half. They also had a large advantage in rebounding, claiming 25 boards to the Pacers' 10.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Addison Newman connected a jumper to surpass 900 points for her career, a notable achievement for the senior. In the wake of Newman's milestone, the Knights continued to fire away from three point land, extending their lead to over thirty points by the end of the third. Owning a 67-33 to open the fourth and final frame, Southern Virginia had already connected on 12 three pointers, but their play at the post, led by Aysia Foster, was also noticeable.

Helping Foster in the frontcourt was Hailey Paige who led the game with eight rebounds. Paige has been an important source of skill and energy off the bench for two seasons and looks to play an important role as they play deeper into the postseason. The Knights were in cruise control the rest of the way, delivering their Head Coach a big milestone win and a berth in the tournament semifinal.

The Knights will host the semifinal at Knight Arena and will face fourth seed, Methodist, who defeated Pfeiffer by a score of 63-48. Tip-off is slated for Thursday, February 27th, at 6:00 PM. For the most up-to-date information and details on the team, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_wbb on Instagram.