FLORENCE, S.C. — A 7-0 run coming out of halftime allowed the USC Aiken Pacers to take a 71-64 victory over Francis Marion University, Monday evening (Feb. 8) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action at the Smith University Center.
The Patriots (0-7, 0-6) will host Lander University on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Attendance will again be limited to 250 – only season ticket holders, player/staff family members identified on a pre-game pass list, and a specified number of FMU students. No general admission game-day tickets will be sold.
Sophomore forward
Jasmine Stanley, a Myrtle Beach native, led the Patriots with a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds. She connected on 6-of-7 shots from the field and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. She was followed by senior guard
Abigail Bullock with a season-high 11 points and four rebounds. Freshman
Lauryn Taylor added nine points, five rebounds, and one block.
Chesney Gardner and Delaney Trushel led the Pacers (2-4, 2-3) with 16 points apiece. Gardner hauled down eight rebounds, while freshman 6-3 center Chidinma Okafor recorded 12 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks and Emily Trushel added nine points and 10 rebounds.
USC Aiken jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Patriots responded a four-minute 9-0 run to gain a 9-4 lead with 5:00 remaining in the first quarter. The Pacers later knotted things up at 11-11, but the first quarter came to a close with FMU leading 14-13.
The second quarter saw five lead changes and two ties as both squads traded bucket after bucket. USC Aiken went into the locker up 32-28 thanks to a fast break three-pointer by Chesney Gardner. Stanley led the Patriots with 10 points in the first half.
The Pacers came out of the locker room and continued to build on their lead thanks to the 7-0 run. Their lead was later 10 at 46-36, but FMU battled to get within eight, 50-42, before the close of the third quarter.
The Patriots continued their rally to get within three, 50-47, after a basket in the paint by Stanley with 9:09 left. Both squads continued trading shots, but USC Aiken continued to dominate in the paint where they outscored FMU 36-14 for the game. A three-pointer by
Taylor Simmons got the Patriots to within 65-59 with two minutes remaining.
The margin dwindled to five in the final 32 seconds, but that was as close as FMU would get.
Francis Marion, the league's best free-throw shooting team, shot 92.3 percent from the stripe, knocking down 12-of-13 shots.
For the latest news and updates regarding Francis Marion women's basketball, follow the Patriots on Twitter at @FMUSports, on Facebook at FMUSports, and Instagram at @FMUSports or check out information online at www.fmupatriots.com.
02/08/21 5:30 pm at Florence, SC
S.C. AIKEN 71, FRANCIS MARION 64
S.C. AIKEN (2-4,2-3 Peach Be)
Chesney Gardner 7-14 0-0 16; Delaney Trushel 5-9 4-4 16; Chidinma Okafor
6-14 0-0 12; Emily Trushel 3-11 1-3 9; Madison Williams 3-9 2-3 8; Allycia
Harris 3-6 1-2 7; Kanna Suzuki 1-1 0-0 3; Grace Crawford 0-2 0-0 0. Totals
28-66 8-12 71.
FRANCIS MARION (0-7,0-6 Peach Be)
Jasmine Stanley 6-7 7-7 19;
Abigail Bullock 4-10 0-0 11;
Lauryn Taylor 3-13
2-2 9;
Aniyah Oliver 3-10 1-2 8;
Scarlett Gilmore 2-8 2-2 7;
Briana White
2-4 0-0 5;
Taylor Simmons 1-4 0-0 3;
Ravyn Madaris 1-6 0-0 2;
Camryn Johnson
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-62 12-13 64.
S.C. Aiken.................... 13 19 18 21 - 71
Francis Marion................14 14 14 22 - 64
3-point goals--S.C. Aiken 7-19 (Delaney Trushel 2-3; Emily Trushel 2-5;
Chesney Gardner 2-6; Kanna Suzuki 1-1; Grace Crawford 0-2; Madison Williams
0-2), Francis Marion 8-34 (
Abigail Bullock 3-9;
Scarlett Gilmore 1-5; Aniyah
Oliver 1-6;
Lauryn Taylor 1-6;
Taylor Simmons 1-4;
Briana White 1-2; Ravyn
Madaris 0-2). Fouled out--S.C. Aiken-None, Francis Marion-None.
Rebounds--S.C. Aiken 41 (Emily Trushel 10), Francis Marion 33 (Jasmine
Stanley 7). Assists--S.C. Aiken 19 (Emily Trushel 5), Francis Marion 19
(
Aniyah Oliver 6;
Taylor Simmons 6). Total fouls--S.C. Aiken 13, Francis
Marion 15. Technical fouls--None. A-77
