DAHLONEGA, GA – Senior guard Stephanie Huffman scored 29 points to lead the University of North Georgia Nighthawks past Francis Marion University 76-71, Monday afternoon (Jan. 19) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

Francis Marion (6-12, 3-6) has lost its last three conference contests by a combined 12 points.  The Patriots will clash with PBC East Division rival USC Aiken on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., before returning to the Smith University Center to host Lander University on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 5:30 p.m.

Senior guard Cy'erra Mills paced three FMU double-figure scorers with 19 points.  Freshman forwards Stephanie Brown and Khayani Chandler contributed 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Huffman connected on 9-of-12 field goal attempts and hit 10-of-13 shots from the charity stripe, while sophomore forward Kelsey Hutchins registered a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. 

Francis Marion's defense held North Georgia (14-4, 6-3) to just 28.2 percent shooting in the first half.  But in the second half, the Nighthawks nailed 14 of 26 shots, including a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the three-point arc. UNG is ranked 10th in the latest region poll.

After a first half in which neither team owned an advantage greater than five points, the Patriots took a 32-31 lead into the halftime break.  The Nighthawks used an 8-0 run to claim the 41-36 edge early in the second stanza.  FMU rallied to grab a 48-47 advantage after a lay-in by Mills at the midway point of the second half.

North Georgia scored the next seven points and never trailed again.  The margin would grow to eight points, 60-52, with 6:57 left.  FMU answered with an 8-2 spurt to trim the deficit to 62-60 on an inside bucket by Chandler.  A three-pointer by Chandler further cut the margin to a single point, 68-67, with 2:35 on the clock.

Mills hit a layup with 44 seconds left to trim the deficit to 73-71.  With 35 seconds remaining and the margin at three, FMU junior forward Alaysia Watts missed a potential game-tying three-pointer.  Late free throws by Huffman and Hutchins put the game away for North Georgia.

FMU shot better from the floor than UNG, 41.4 percent to 38.5 percent, but Francis Marion connected on just 10-of-18 free throw attempts, while North Georgia hit 21-of-27 free throws. The Patriots committed fewer turnovers than the Nighthawks, but were outrebounded 48-40.

1-19-15 1:30 pm at Memorial Hall - Dahlonega, Ga.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH GEORGIA 76, FRANCIS MARION 71
FRANCIS MARION UNIVE (6-12, 3-6 PBC)
Cy'erra Mills 7-13 5-6 19; Stephanie Brown 7-11 0-3 14; Khayani Chandler
4-10 2-2 11; Courtney Wood 3-5 2-2 8; Emily Green 2-8 0-0 6; Camille Dash
2-5 1-3 5; De'Ana Turner 2-5 0-0 4; Briana Burgins 1-7 0-0 2; Alaysia Watts
1-6 0-2 2. Totals 29-70 10-18 71.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH GEORGIA (14-4, 6-3 PBC)
Stephanie Huffman 9-12 10-13 29; Kelsey Hutchins 6-11 4-6 18; Samantha
Glodis 4-10 0-0 8; Jordan Livesay 2-4 2-3 8; Julie McKee 2-6 3-3 7; Cierra
Jackson 1-8 2-2 4; Lauren Pounds 1-5 0-0 2; Riley Slaton 0-0 0-0 0; Rebecca
Webster 0-1 0-0 0; Helena Pouengue 0-0 0-0 0; Kaylee Akin 0-2 0-0 0; Molly
Rainwater 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 21-27 76.
Halftime: Francis Marion 32 North Georgia 31
3-point goals--Francis Marion Unive 3-16 (Emily Green 2-8; Khayani Chandler
1-2; Briana Burgins 0-1; Alaysia Watts 0-1; Cy'erra Mills 0-4), University
of North Georgia 5-17 (Jordan Livesay 2-2; Kelsey Hutchins 2-2; Stephanie
Huffman 1-2; Cierra Jackson 0-3; Kaylee Akin 0-1; Molly Rainwater 0-6; Julie
McKee 0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion Unive-Khayani Chandler; Alaysia
Watts, University of North Georgia-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion Unive 40
(Alaysia Watts 9), University of North Georgia 48 (Kelsey Hutchins 13).
Assists--Francis Marion Unive 13 (Cy'erra Mills 5), University of North
Georgia 14 (Cierra Jackson 3). Total fouls--Francis Marion Unive 24,
University of North Georgia 15. Technical fouls--None. A-329