FLORENCE, SC – Senior guard Cy'erra Mills scored a game-high 20 points and Francis Marion University never trailed in claiming a 79-47 win over the University of Montevallo, Thursday night (Dec. 18) in the Peach Belt Conference opener for both women's squads.

Francis Marion improves to 3-6 overall and 1-0 in PBC play.  The 32-point difference is the largest winning margin ever for the Patriots in a conference opener.  FMU will close out the 2014 portion of its schedule on Saturday when it plays host to Clayton State University for a 1:30 p.m. tip-off.

WATCH THE GAME REPLAY

Freshman reserve guard Mariah Johnson followed Mills in the scoring column with a career-high 12 points.  Junior Camille Dash added nine points and freshmen Briana Burgins and Khayani Chandler overcame early foul trouble to post eight points apiece as did sophomore guard Danielle Pray.  Freshman forward Stephanie Brown scored only four points, but grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

Junior Katherine Goldsby came off the bench to lead Montevallo (1-7, 0-1) with 11 points and five rebounds.

Burgins hit a pair of free throws on the Patriots' opening possession and FMU never looked back.  The margin quickly grew to 17-3 after nine minutes and later to 23-7. Mills tallied 13 of her points in the opening half as FMU left for the locker room at intermission holding a 39-15 advantage.

The Falcons closed the gap to 17 points at 49-32 with 11:41 remaining, but Francis Marion responded with a 10-0 run to open a commanding 59-32 lead.  FMU's largest lead came at 73-36 after a jump shot by Dash.

FMU shot 39.7 percent from the floor and was 24-of-34 at the foul line, while the Patriots held Montevallo to 37 percent shooting from the field, including only 1-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc.

Francis Marion forced 26 Montevallo turnovers, committed a season-low 11 miscues themselves, and held a 34-6 lead in points-off-turnovers.

12-18-14 5:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 79, UNIV. OF MONTEVALLO 47
UNIV. OF MONTEVALLO (1-7, 0-1 PBC)
Goldsby, Katherine 4-5 3-7 11; Caise, Carrington 2-6 2-3 6; Foster, D'Miyah
1-3 4-5 6; Petrovic, Andrea 2-5 2-3 6; Thomas, Jasmine 2-7 1-2 5; Newsome,
Jasmine 2-4 0-0 5; Colson, Katie 1-2 0-0 2; Green, Jerrisa 1-2 0-0 2;
Mouyal, Ellie 1-4 0-0 2; Thompson, Jacquelyn 1-8 0-1 2; Tarailo, Katija 0-0
0-0 0; Hill, Tianna 0-0 0-1 0; Starks, Kalen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-46 12-22 47.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (3-6, 1-0 PBC)
Cy'erra Mills 6-12 6-8 20; Mariah Johnson 3-7 4-4 12; Camille Dash 4-7 0-0
9; Khayani Chandler 3-9 2-2 8; Briana Burgins 2-4 4-6 8; Danielle Pray 2-6
4-4 8; Alaysia Watts 2-5 1-1 5; Stephanie Brown 2-7 0-3 4; De'Ana Turner 1-2
1-2 3; Bailee Watts 0-2 2-2 2; Courtney Wood 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 25-63 24-34 79.
Halftime: Francis Marion 39 Montevallo  15
3-point goals--Univ. of Montevallo 1-11 (Newsome, Jasmine 1-2; Petrovic,
Andrea 0-1; Mouyal, Ellie 0-1; Thompson, Jacquelyn 0-6; Goldsby, Katherine
0-1), Francis Marion University 5-20 (Mariah Johnson 2-5; Cy'erra Mills 2-7;
Camille Dash 1-1; Danielle Pray 0-3; Alaysia Watts 0-2; Bailee Watts 0-1;
Khayani Chandler 0-1). Fouled out--Univ. of Montevallo-Newsome, Jasmine,
Francis Marion University-None. Rebounds--Univ. of Montevallo 35 (Goldsby,
Katherine 5; Colson, Katie 5), Francis Marion University 40 (Stephanie Brown
10). Assists--Univ. of Montevallo 9 (Caise, Carrington 3), Francis Marion
University 18 (Courtney Wood 4). Total fouls--Univ. of Montevallo 27,
Francis Marion University 25. Technical fouls--None. A-566