Like Francis Marion Athletics on Facebook!

FLORENCE, SC- On Francis Marion University's Senior Night, it was a freshman who hit the bucket that put the Patriots over the top in their 66-63 comeback win over the visiting Armstrong Atlantic State University, Monday night (Feb. 20) in Peach Belt Conference women's action.

Freshman Chelsey Johnson's jumper in the lane off an in-bounds pass from Carmella Thompson with 57 seconds left gave Francis Marion (9-16, 4-13) its first lead of the second half at 64-63.  Two free throws by Thompson with 13 ticks remaining sealed the win as FMU outscored Armstrong 18-2 over the final six-and-a-half minutes.

Sophomore guard Brittany Christian led Francis Marion with 14 points off the bench, while seniors Simone Trice, Danielle Gibson, and T.T. Belcher chipped in double-figure outputs of their own in their final game at the Smith University Center.  Belcher finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, Gibson a season-high equaling 11 points, and Trice 10 points and eight rebounds.  Thompson just missed a triple-double as she registered eight points, eight assists, and 11 rebounds, her 10th double-figure rebounding effort of the season.

Center D.D. Gibson paced the Pirates (13-12, 7-10) with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Karolina Rykowska added 11 points.

The Patriots jumped out to an 11-point advantage early in the first half, when Belcher converted a layup at 14:39 to put FMU on top 16-5.  The Pirates quickly erased the deficit however, and evened the score at 23-23 near the nine-minute mark when Mauri Wells dropped in a layup of her own.

The two sides battled back-and-forth before Rykowska hit a jumper at the buzzer of the first half to give the Pirates the lead heading into the locker room, 37-35.

Armstrong continued to build on that lead throughout the early stages of the second half until the margin reached 13 points at 61-48 following a three-point play by Demisha Mills with 6:52 left.  During that stretch, cold shooting plagued the Patriots as they went without a field goal for 5:03 until Christian hit from downtown, cutting the lead to 61-51 and starting the FMU charge.

An 11-0 run by FMU, highlighted by a Johnson layup at 3:03, helped the Patriots crawl back to within two at 61-59.  The Pirates would add a Jazmin Walker in-side bucket at 2:35, before being shut out the rest of the way.  Armstrong missed six of its last seven field goal attempts.

A free throw by Belcher and a layup by Thompson cut the deficit to 63-62 with 1:30 left and set the stage for Johnson's go-ahead hoop.

Armstrong held the upper hand in rebounding at 39-37, but where the Patriots really made a difference was in the paint, outscoring the Pirates 46-22, including 28-8 in the first stanza.

Francis Marion will close out its season on Wednesday (Feb. 22) with a Peach Belt Conference game at 13th-ranked USC Aiken, starting at 5:30 p.m.

2-20-12 5:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 66, ARMSTRONG 63

ARMSTRONG (13-12, 7-10 PBC)
D. D. Gipson 6-12 4-5 17; Karolina Rykowska 4-9 0-0 11; Angelia Hill 3-9 2-2
9; Demisha Mills 3-5 1-3 7; Mauri Wells 3-7 1-3 7; Dee Hayward 2-2 1-2 5;
Jazmin Walker 2-5 1-2 5; Briana McFarland 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 24-54 10-17 63.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (9-16, 4-13 PBC)
Brittany Christian 6-17 0-0 14; T.T. Belcher 4-7 4-6 12; Danielle Gibson 5-9
1-2 11; Simone Trice 5-13 0-0 10; Carmella Thompson 2-5 4-9 8; Chelsey
Johnson 2-2 0-0 4; Kristen Dickerson 2-4 0-0 4; Ana Imani 1-5 1-1 3; Jas.
Williams-Hayes 0-0 0-0 0; Emilee Dunton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-62 10-18 66.
Halftime: Armstrong 37 Francis Marion 35 
3-point goals--Armstrong 5-12 (Karolina Rykowska 3-4; Angelia Hill 1-2; D.
D. Gipson 1-2; Jazmin Walker 0-1; Briana McFarland 0-1; Mauri Wells 0-2),
Francis Marion University 2-11 (Brittany Christian 2-7; Simone Trice 0-4).
Fouled out--Armstrong-None, Francis Marion University-None.
Rebounds--Armstrong 39 (Mauri Wells 13), Francis Marion University 37
(Carmella Thompson 11). Assists--Armstrong 20 (Mauri Wells 7), Francis
Marion University 19 (Carmella Thompson 8). Total fouls--Armstrong 19,
Francis Marion University 17. Technical fouls--Armstrong-None, Francis
Marion University-None. A-267