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FLORENCE, S.C.- Junior guard Kristen Dickerson scored a career-high 11 points off the bench, but a cold-shooting night for the Francis Marion University Patriot women ended with in a 67-57 loss to the University of Montevallo, Monday evening (Jan. 9) in the Peach Belt Conference action.

The Patriots (5-7, 1-5) cut an eight-point first-half Montevallo advantage down only four points, 32-28, at halftime. The opening 20 minutes featured six ties and four lead changes.  However, the lead wouldn't change again after the midway point as the Falcons opened up the second frame on a 7-0 run, rounded out by a three-pointer by Teanna Boxley at the 18:00 mark. 

FMU worked the advantage down to three at 49-46 thanks to four straight points at the free throw line by sophomore guard Emilee Dunton with 6:56 left to play.  Two more charity tosses by Brittany Christian further trimmed the margin to two at 52-50 with 4:43 left.

A layup by Dunton with 3:24 on the clock had the Patriots within four points at 57-53, but Montevallo closed the game with a10-4 spurt. The Falcons scored their final 13 points at the foul line, while the Patriots misfired on eight consecutive shots after Dunton lay-in before Dickerson converted on a three-pointer with six ticks remaining.

Dunton and juniors Carmella Thompson and Daphne Walker each tallied nine points.  Thompson grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists, while senior forward T.T. Belcher ripped down a game-high 16 boards.

As a team, FMU shot 26.9 percent for the game, while Montevallo canned 42.5 percent of its field goal attempts.  Francis Marion's three-leading scorers for the season combined to shoot 4-of-35 from the floor.

The Falcons (6-7, 1-3) had five players reach double-figures and were paced by guard Tiffany McClure's 15 points.  Senior center Shavonne Seymore, guard Zena Nasiloski, and forward Taylor Beverly also reached the double-digit plateau with 13, 12, and 12 points respectively, and eight rebounds apiece.

Francis Marion now takes to the road for a Peach Belt match-up with Flagler College on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m.

1-9-12 5:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
UNIV. OF MONTEVALLO 67, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 57

UNIV. OF MONTEVALLO (6-7 , 1-3 PBC)
Tiffany McClure 1-5 13-16 15; Shavonne Seymore 4-7 5-7 13; Zena Nasiloski
4-5 4-6 12; Taylor Beverly 4-5 4-7 12; Teanna Boxley 2-10 5-6 10; Trena
Moore-Smith 1-4 1-2 3; Davia Harris 1-3 0-0 2; Alex Strickland 0-1 0-0 0;
Taylor Welch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-40 32-44 67.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (5-7 , 1-5 PBC)
Kristen Dickerson 4-10 2-2 11; Daphne Walker 4-6 1-4 9; Emilee Dunton 2-11
4-4 9; Carmella Thompson 2-11 5-8 9; Simone Trice 3-6 1-3 8; Hattie Harris
1-1 2-2 4; Danielle Gibson 1-1 0-0 2; Brittany Christian 0-13 2-2 2; Chelsey
Johnson 1-4 0-0 2; T.T. Belcher 0-4 1-3 1. Totals 18-67 18-28 57.
Halftime: Montevallo 32 Francis Marion 28
3-point goals--Univ. of Montevallo 1-9 (Teanna Boxley 1-4; Trena Moore-Smith
0-3; Tiffany McClure 0-2), Francis Marion University 3-23 (Emilee Dunton
1-8; Simone Trice 1-3; Kristen Dickerson 1-3; Brittany Christian 0-9).
Fouled out--Univ. of Montevallo-Davia Harris, Francis Marion University-T.T.
Belcher; Chelsey Johnson; Daphne Walker. Rebounds--Univ. of Montevallo 37
(Zena Nasiloski 8; Taylor Beverly 8; Shavonne Seymore 8), Francis Marion
University 42 (T.T. Belcher 16). Assists--Univ. of Montevallo 11 (Taylor
Beverly 3; Shavonne Seymore 3), Francis Marion University 13 (Carmella
Thompson 5). Total fouls--Univ. of Montevallo 21, Francis Marion University
33. Technical fouls--None. A-287