Box Score AUGUSTA, GA – Cold-shooting doomed the Francis Marion University women's basketball team as the Patriots fell to Augusta State University 55-40, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 23) in Peach Belt Conference basketball action.
Francis Marion falls to 11-12 overall and 5-11 in the East Division standings. The Patriots drop into a tie for fifth place, one-half game out of the all-important fourth place.
FMU will complete its home game with Armstrong Atlantic State University on Monday evening at 5:30 p.m., a game that was stopped because of water on the floor earlier this season. The Patriots were down 12 with 17 minutes left and that is where the game will be resumed.
Junior guard Erin Pinkett led FMU with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from behind the three-point arc. The Patriots played without the services of junior Kim Roach who missed the game with an illness.
Taylor Ayers came off the ASU (19-5, 12-5) bench to tally 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Tiffany Jaecks scored a career-high 16 points.
The Patriots held an early 7-4 lead, but connected on only one of their last 17 field goal attempts of the first half. A 9-1 run by the Jaguars helped ASU take a 20-12 advantage at intermission.
Augusta State hit its first three shots of the second stanza to go up 26-12. The margin would reach 19 points (46-27) with 8:22 left in the game before the Patriots put together a small rally.
Three-pointers by Pinkett and freshman Camille Dash and layup by senior Hattie Harris fueled an 8-0 push that trimmed the deficit to 46-35 with still 6:35 remaining. However, ASU scored the game's next five points to extend the lead back to 16 points at 51-35.
After shooting just 12 percent (3-of-25) in the first half, FMU warmed up in the second 20 minutes to finish at 27.7 percent, including 5-of-13 from three-point range. ASU finished at 36.1 percent and outrebounded the Patriots 45-33 and led 32-10 in points-in-the-paint and 15-3 in second-chance points.
2/23/13 1:30 p.m. at Augusta, Ga. (Christenberry Fieldhouse)
AUGUSTA STATE 55, FRANCIS MARION 40
FRANCIS MARION (11-12, 5-11 PBC)
Erin Pinkett 3-6 0-0 9; Jas. Williams-Hayes 1-3 4-4 6; Kristen Dickerson 3-9
0-0 6; Hattie Harris 2-5 1-2 5; Camille Dash 1-5 2-4 5; Briana Robinson 2-8
0-0 4; Dee Gray 1-9 0-0 3; DeAsia Toney 0-1 1-2 1; Jalyn McDowell 0-1 1-2 1.
Totals 13-47 9-14 40.
AUGUSTA STATE (19-5, 12-5 PBC)
Taylor Ayers 8-16 1-3 17; Tiffany Jaecks 6-9 3-5 16; Laci Schreiber 2-5 4-4
8; Brooke McCants 2-6 0-0 5; Becky Newhouse 2-8 0-0 5; Brittany White 2-9
0-0 4; Tracy Aifuwa 0-0 0-0 0; Eryka Menzies 0-2 0-0 0; Jemimah Ashby 0-2
0-0 0; Tanch. Hollingsworth 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 22-61 8-12 55.
Halftime: Augusta State 20 Francis Marion 12
3-point goals--Francis Marion 5-13 (Erin Pinkett 3-6; Dee Gray 1-3; Camille
Dash 1-2; Briana Robinson 0-2), Augusta State 3-16 (Becky Newhouse 1-3;
Tiffany Jaecks 1-3; Brooke McCants 1-3; Eryka Menzies 0-1; Tanch.
Hollingsworth 0-4; Brittany White 0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None,
Augusta State-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 33 (Hattie Harris 5), Augusta
State 45 (Taylor Ayers 15). Assists--Francis Marion 8 (Briana Robinson 4),
Augusta State 16 (Brittany White 6). Total fouls--Francis Marion 11, Augusta
State 15. Technical fouls--None. A-533
