FLORENCE, SC – Sophomore point guard Briana Robinson sparked a 14-1 run to open the second half as Francis Marion University rallied from a three-point halftime deficit to claim a 67-58 win over previously unbeaten Newberry College, Saturday afternoon (Nov. 17) in non-conference women's basketball action.

FMU stays unbeaten at 3-0, while Newberry, which had already beaten three Peach Belt Conference programs this season, drops to 3-1.  FMU will play at Brenau University in Gainesville, Ga., on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Junior forward Dee Gray led Francis Marion with 14 points and six rebounds, while Robinson chipped in 13 points, four assists, and four steals.  Robinson was a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line.  Junior post player Kim Roach tallied 12 points.  The trio combined for 29 points in the second stanza as the Patriots amped up their full-court attack and outscored the Wolves 41-29 after trailing 29-26 at intermission.

Sophomore 6-2 center Haylee Lepaio paced Newberry with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while freshman forward Samantha Creed added 15 points and five assists.  However, FMU held Lepaio to only two field goals and five points over the final 20 minutes after the Australian native posted a double-double in the first half.

With Newberry controlling the tempo in the opening half, the first 20 minutes proved to be a grind-it-out affair.  Neither team led by more than five points and that came after Newberry's Ellie Gleeson made a pair of free throws with 1:21 left before halftime.  Patriot freshman Camille Dash canned a jumper in the paint with 14 ticks left to trim the margin to 29-26 as the teams left the floor and made their way to the locker rooms.

Dash's basket was actually the first points in what would be a 16-1 spurt that gave Francis Marion a 40-30 lead with 16:22 remaining in the contest.  Robinson contributed five points, two steals, and an assist as the Patriots took the lead for good over those four minutes.

Newberry answered with a brief 6-0 run that trimmed the lead to 40-36.  FMU's margin was five at 47-42 with 8:25 left on the clock, but Roach scored eight points in a 10-4 spurt that worked the margin to 57-46 with 4:29 remaining.

With the tempo increased in the second stanza, Francis Marion forced 17 second-half turnovers that resulted in 20 points.  For the game, the Patriots held a 34-8 advantage in points-off-turnovers as FMU committed only 13 miscues in 40 minutes.

Once again, all but one of the Patriots (10 of 11) who played got into the scoring column.  

11/17/12 1:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 67, NEWBERRY COLLEGE 58

NEWBERRY COLLEGE (3-1)
Lepaio,Haylee 9-16 3-4 21; Creed,Samantha 5-9 4-4 15; Taylor,Devanee 3-3 0-0
6; Brown,Kendra 1-5 2-4 4; Gleeson,Ellie 1-4 2-2 4; Pearson,Zara 0-3 3-4 3;
Holdorf,Tasia 1-1 0-0 3; Dunsmore,Kirsten 0-2 2-2 2; Butler,Mikalia 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 20-43 16-20 58.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (3-0)
Dee Gray 5-8 4-6 14; Briana Robinson 2-10 8-8 13; Kim Roach 4-8 4-5 12;
Kristen Dickerson 4-7 0-0 8; Tiara Gause 2-7 1-2 5; Jas. Williams-Hayes 2-4
1-2 5; Simone Johnson 2-3 0-0 4; Erin Pinkett 0-5 2-2 2; Camille Dash 1-1
0-0 2; DeAsia Toney 1-2 0-2 2; Hattie Harris 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-58 20-27
67.
Halftime: Newberry 29 Francis Marion 26
3-point goals--Newberry College 2-7 (Creed,Samantha 1-3; Holdorf,Tasia 1-1;
Brown,Kendra 0-1; Gleeson,Ellie 0-1; Pearson,Zara 0-1), Francis Marion
University 1-11 (Briana Robinson 1-3; Kristen Dickerson 0-1; Tiara Gause
0-1; Erin Pinkett 0-5; DeAsia Toney 0-1). Fouled out--Newberry
College-Brown,Kendra; Pearson,Zara, Francis Marion University-None.
Rebounds--Newberry College 34 (Lepaio,Haylee 14), Francis Marion University
27 (Dee Gray 6). Assists--Newberry College 17 (Gleeson,Ellie 9), Francis
Marion University 12 (Briana Robinson 4). Total fouls--Newberry College 18,
Francis Marion University 18. Technical fouls--Newberry Bench 2. A-737