FLORENCE, SC – Senior Tiara Gause scored a team-high 14 points and Francis Marion University held Coker College to below 30 percent shooting as the Patriots claimed a 68-54 win over their local rivals, Monday night (Dec. 3) in non-conference women's basketball action.

Francis Marion, which now enters a break for exams, is off to a 5-1 start for the first time in three seasons.  The Patriots will return to action on Dec. 15 with their Peach Belt Conference opener on the road at Georgia College.

Gause tallied her 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting.  Senior guard Kristen Dickerson added 12 points and five steals, while sophomore point guard Briana Robinson registered eight points, seven rebounds, five assists and no turnovers in 23 minutes of action.

Senior Amber Lau led Coker (4-2) with 11 points and nine rebounds.  However, FMU held the Cobras' leading scorer to 11 points below her season average and to only 4-of-21 shooting from the field.  Sophomore guard Angie Lawrence added 10 points, while sophomore Priscilla Fenty recorded nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Coker jumped out to a 10-4 lead after four-and-a-half minutes as the Cobras connected on four of their first seven shots.  However, Francis Marion would hold Coker to 5-of-20 shooting over the remainder of the half.  FMU answered that strong Coker start with 14-0 run that erased the deficit and put the Patriots ahead to stay at 18-10.  Both Gause and Dickerson contributed four points apiece to the spurt.

Coker closed the margin to 20-18 with 4:33 left before intermission, but Francis Marion scored 13 of the stanza's final 19 points to leave for the locker room holding a 33-24 advantage.

A layup by Gause extended the lead to 11 points (35-24) to open the second half, but Coker again crept to within seven points at 35-28 with 16 minutes left on the clock.  An inside bucket by senior Jasmine Williams-Hayes gave FMU a 43-32 lead at the 12:08 mark, and the Cobras would never get within single digits again.  Francis Marion's largest lead came at 53-37 after a layup by freshman guard DeAsia Toney with 6:17 remaining.

FMU forced 23 Coker turnovers and held a 24-5 advantage in points-off-turnovers.  The Patriot bench chipped in 38 points as the Cobras played only six players.

FMU shot 40.6 percent from the field and was 13-of-19 at the foul line.  Coker was held to 29.7 percent shooting, including 9-of-28 from beyond the three-point arc.

Francis Marion now leads the all-time series 33-3 and has won the last 11 meetings dating back to 1994.

12/3/12 6 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 68, COKER COLLEGE 54

COKER COLLEGE (4-2)
Amber Lau 4-21 0-0 11; Angie Lawrence 4-15 0-0 10; Hailey Yohn 3-6 0-0 9;
Priscilla Fenty 3-7 2-2 9; Jasmine Evans 3-8 3-8 9; Kelley Godbout 2-7 2-2
6. Totals 19-64 7-12 54.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (5-1)
Tiara Gause 6-12 2-2 14; Kristen Dickerson 4-7 4-6 12; Briana Robinson 1-7
6-7 8; Erin Pinkett 2-6 1-2 7; Dee Gray 3-9 0-0 7; Simone Johnson 3-4 0-0 6;
DeAsia Toney 2-2 0-1 4; Jas. Williams-Hayes 2-7 0-0 4; Kim Roach 2-6 0-1 4;
Hattie Harris 1-3 0-0 2; Camille Dash 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-64 13-19 68.
Halftime: Francis Marion 33 Coker 24
3-point goals--Coker College 9-28 (Hailey Yohn 3-6; Amber Lau 3-11; Angie
Lawrence 2-7; Priscilla Fenty 1-1; Kelley Godbout 0-1; Jasmine Evans 0-2),
Francis Marion University 3-9 (Erin Pinkett 2-5; Dee Gray 1-1; Briana
Robinson 0-2; Tiara Gause 0-1). Fouled out--Coker College-Priscilla Fenty,
Francis Marion University-None. Rebounds--Coker College 46 (Priscilla Fenty
12), Francis Marion University 39 (Simone Johnson 7; Briana Robinson 7).
Assists--Coker College 14 (Angie Lawrence 4), Francis Marion University 19
(DeAsia Toney 5; Briana Robinson 5). Total fouls--Coker College 20, Francis
Marion University 13. Technical fouls--None. A-526