DAHLONEGA, GA – Francis Marion University senior forward Simone Trice came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points, but North Georgia College & State University used a huge advantage at the foul line to earn a 75-55 win over the Patriots, Monday evening (Jan. 16) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

The loss ends FMU's four-game road winning streak and drops the Patriots to 6-8 overall and 2-6 in the PBC. Francis Marion will return home to host Georgia College on Friday night at 5:30 p.m.

Following Trice for FMU was sophomore guard Brittany Christian with 10 points (all in the second half) and senior forward T.T. Belcher with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Forward Jaymee Carnes, the top scorer in NCAA Division II with a 27.2 ppg average, led North Georgia (9-5, 3-2) with 25 points.  Altogether four Saints registered in double digits.  North Georgia converted 28-of-37 free throws, while the Patriots were only 11-of-20.

North Georgia took an early 7-2 lead and never trailed in the contest.  A three-pointer by Trice near the midway point of the first stanza brought the Patriots to within 22-17.  Several minutes later, an 8-0 run by the Saints expanded the margin to 32-19.  FMU trailed 36-27 at halftime.

A pair of free throws by sophomore guard Emilee Dunton cut the deficit to 40-34 with 17:04 remaining.  However, the Saints responded by scoring 13 of the game's next 15 points to go up 53-36.

A three-pointer by Christian trimmed the margin back to 60-49 with 6:16 left.  Carnes then contributed five points to another 8-0 outburst as North Georgia took a 68-49 advantage.  FMU guard Hattie Harris broke the run with a three-pointer, but the Saints answered with a 7-0 run to take a 75-52 lead.

Francis Marion connected on 35.7 percent of its field goal attempts compared to the Saints' 42.0 percent.

1-16-12 5:30 PM at Dahlonega, GA
NORTH GEORGIA 75, FRANCIS MARION 55

FRANCIS MARION (6-8, 2-6 PBC)
Simone Trice 6-8 2-2 15; Brittany Christian 3-10 2-6 10; T.T. Belcher 3-10
3-5 9; Hattie Harris 2-4 2-2 7; Chelsey Johnson 3-5 0-0 6; Danielle Gibson
1-3 0-3 2; Kristen Dickerson 1-7 0-0 2; Emilee Dunton 0-3 2-2 2; Daphne
Walker 1-3 0-0 2; Ana Imani 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 11-20 55.
NORTH GEORGIA (9-5, 3-2 PBC)
Jaymee Carnes 7-15 11-16 25; Jessica Trice 4-7 4-4 15; Jasmine Manning 4-5
4-4 13; Stephanie Huffman 3-9 6-9 12; Amanda Rector 1-2 2-2 4; Kari McCann
1-4 0-0 3; Crystal Moore 1-3 0-0 2; Giovanni Sims 0-5 1-2 1. Totals 21-50
28-37 75.
Halftime: North Georgia 36 Francis Marion 27
3-point goals--Francis Marion 4-15 (Brittany Christian 2-9; Hattie Harris
1-1; Simone Trice 1-1; Kristen Dickerson 0-1; Emilee Dunton 0-3), North
Georgia 5-12 (Jessica Trice 3-3; Kari McCann 1-4; Jasmine Manning 1-2;
Crystal Moore 0-1; Amanda Rector 0-1; Stephanie Huffman 0-1). Fouled
out--Francis Marion-T.T. Belcher, North Georgia-None. Rebounds--Francis
Marion 33 (T.T. Belcher 10), North Georgia 41 (Giovanni Sims 11).
Assists--Francis Marion 12 (T.T. Belcher 3), North Georgia 12 (Giovanni Sims
8). Total fouls--Francis Marion 27, North Georgia 18. Technical fouls--None. A-698