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HARTSVILLE, SC – Sophomore guard Brittany Christian nailed a three-pointer from the left elbow with 1:33 remaining to help carry Francis Marion University to a 58-53 win over local-rival Coker College, Monday afternoon (Dec. 19) in non-conference women's basketball action.

The Patriots even their season mark at 4-4 as they head into the Christmas holidays.  It is the 10th consecutive win for FMU over the Cobras.  FMU will return to action on Dec. 30 when it hosts Saint Augustine's College at 4 p.m.

Junior forward Daphne Walker led FMU with a season-high 14 points, while Christian tallied 13 points.  Junior point guard Carmella Thompson registered her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Amber Lau led Coker (0-8) with 16 points, while Hailey Yohn added 11 points.

A layup by T.T. Belcher gave Francis Marion a 51-45 advantage with 5:21 remaining, but a pair of three-pointers by Yohn helped the Cobras knot the score at 53-53 with two minutes on the clock.  Christian's bucket put the Patriots up 56-53.

The FMU defense then forced a Coker turnover and a missed layup on the next two possessions.  Sophomore guard Emilee Dunton sealed the win with 1.8 seconds left as she hit two technical free throws after Coker called a timeout it did not have.

Francis Marion shot 54.2 percent over the opening 20 minutes, but the Patriots held only a 30-27 lead at intermission.

An inside hoop by Walker with 14:57 left gave the Patriots their largest lead of the afternoon at 41-33.  After Coker rallied to within 41-40, FMU again pushed the margin to eight at 48-40 after a steal and layup by Thompson with 8:16 remaining.

Francis Marion shot 47.9 percent for the game, while holding Coker to 37.7 percent.  FMU also held a 37-23 rebounding margin.

12-19-11 2:00 pm at Hartsville, SC- Timberlake-Lawton Gym
FRANCIS MARION 58, COKER COLLEGE 53

FRANCIS MARION (4-4)
Daphne Walker 7-10 0-0 14; Brittany Christian 5-8 1-2 13; Carmella Thompson
5-10 0-0 10; T.T. Belcher 2-4 3-6 7; Emilee Dunton 1-5 3-4 6; Danielle
Gibson 1-3 2-2 4; Simone Trice 1-2 0-0 2; Chelsey Johnson 1-5 0-0 2;
Hattie Harris 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-48 9-14 58.
COKER COLLEGE (0-8)
Amber Lau 5-13 2-2 16; Hailey Yohn 4-10 0-0 11; Priscilla Fenty 4-7 2-2 10;
Jasmine Alston 3-8 1-2 7; Kelley Godbout 3-9 0-0 6; Jasmine Evans 1-1 0-0 3;
Jessica Cohen 0-1 0-0 0; H. Kristmundsdottir 0-4 0-0 0; Ali Clemens 0-0 0-1
0; Lucy Fish 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-53 5-7 53.
Halftime: Francis Marion 30 Coker 27
3-point goals--Francis Marion 3-9 (Brittany Christian 2-4; Emilee Dunton
1-3; Carmella Thompson 0-2), Coker College 8-28 (Amber Lau 4-10; Hailey Yohn
3-8; Jasmine Evans 1-1; Kelley Godbout 0-5; H. Kristmundsdottir 0-3; Jasmine
Alston 0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Coker College-Hailey Yohn.
Rebounds--Francis Marion 37 (Carmella Thompson 11), Coker College 23
(Jessica Cohen 4). Assists--Francis Marion 10 (Hattie Harris 2; Carmella
Thompson 2), Coker College 11 (H. Kristmundsdottir 8). Total fouls--Francis
Marion 12, Coker 16. Technical fouls—Coker Bench. A-88