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AUGUSTA, GA – Senior forward Simone Trice scored a career-high 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and with the exception of the opening minute Francis Marion University led the remainder of the game as the Patriots grabbed a 59-51 Peach Belt Conference road win at Augusta State University on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11).

After giving up the opening bucket, FMU (8-14, 3-11) evened the score when senior T.T. Belcher converted on a lay-up to ignite a 9-0 run for the Patriots.  Augusta State (11-12, 6-9) got the FMU lead down to five at 16-11 on an Amber Peterson three-pointer, but Francis Marion used a big first half from Trice to take an 11-point lead into the locker room (30-19) at halftime.

Trice scored 12 of her 16 points before recess on a day when the Patriot frontcourt was short-handed.  FMU was playing without junior forward Daphne Walker and senior center Danielle Gibson due to injuries.

The Patriot lead fluctuated between 11 and seven points for the first portion of the second stanza before sophomore Brittany Christian drilled a three-point basket to balloon the advantage to 12, at 43-31, with 9:28 left.  The Jaguars answered with a 6-0 run over the next 3:30 to whittle the lead down to six at 43-37.

Francis Marion watched the lead shrink down to five (45-40) on a Becky Newhouse three-pointer, but Belcher answered with 4:37 left with a layup to extend the lead back out to seven 47-40.  Belcher ended the day with 10 points and nine rebounds, just missing her third double-double of the season.

ASU further trimmed the lead to 52-48 with 1:20 remaining, but FMU sealed the victory at the charity stripe with the trio of junior Kristen Dickerson, freshman Chelsey Johnson, and Christian each knocking down free throws over the final minute.

Christian scored 11 points and Johnson equaled her career-high of 10.

Tiffany Jaecks and Brittany White each scored 12 to pace ASU.

Francis Marion shot 41.5 percent from the floor, while holding ASU to 35.6 percent shooting.  FMU outrebounded the Jaguars 36-30.  The win avenged a 49-42 home loss to the Jaguars back in December.

The Patriots continues its road trip when it visits UNC Pembroke for a conference match-up Wednesday (Feb. 15) with tip-off slated for 5:30 p.m.

2-11-12 1:30 p.m. at Augusta, Ga. (Christenberry Fieldhouse)
FRANCIS MARION 59, AUGUSTA STATE 51

FRANCIS MARION (8-14, 3-11 PBC)
Simone Trice 7-11 0-0 16; Brittany Christian 3-10 3-4 11; T.T. Belcher 5-6
0-1 10; Chelsey Johnson 3-9 4-4 10; Kristen Dickerson 2-6 3-5 7; Hattie
Harris 1-2 1-1 3; Carmella Thompson 1-5 0-0 2; Jas. Williams-Hayes 0-2 0-0
0; Emilee Dunton 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 11-15 59.
AUGUSTA STATE (11-12, 6-9 PBC)
Tiffany Jaecks 4-8 4-5 12; Brittany White 4-9 3-4 12; Amber Peterson 3-8 0-0
8; Laci Schreiber 3-9 2-4 8; Becky Newhouse 1-4 2-4 5; Jemimah Ashby 1-6 2-2
4; Marina Fox 0-1 2-2 2; Eryka Menzies 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-45 15-21 51.
Halftime: Francis Marion 30  Augusta State 19
3-point goals--Francis Marion 4-15 (Simone Trice 2-6; Brittany Christian
2-6; Chelsey Johnson 0-1; Emilee Dunton 0-2), Augusta State 4-15 (Amber
Peterson 2-6; Becky Newhouse 1-3; Brittany White 1-3; Jemimah Ashby 0-1;
Laci Schreiber 0-1; Tiffany Jaecks 0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-Carmella
Thompson, Augusta State-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 36 (T.T. Belcher 9),
Augusta State 30 (Laci Schreiber 8). Assists--Francis Marion 14 (Hattie
Harris 3; Brittany Christian 3; Carmella Thompson 3), Augusta State 8
(Brittany White 3). Total fouls--Francis Marion 15, Augusta State 17.
Technical fouls--None. Att-- NA