COLUMBUS, GA - Sophomore guard Renee Guilliams came off the Francis Marion University bench to score a career-high 21 points and lead the Patriots to a 60-49 women's basketball win over Columbus State University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 14) in Peach Belt Conference action at the Lumpkin Center.
FMU has now won three straight to even its overall record at 6-6 and move to 4-2 in the PBC. Offensive woes for CSU (9-7, 2-4) continued as the Lady Cougars shot just 22 percent in the second half and 33 percent overall. Francis Marion tallied just six field goals in the final 20 minutes, but was 15 of 18 from the charity stripe in the second half.
Guilliams was six of 11 overall from the field, including four of seven from three-point range. Senior Danielle Moore added 18 points. Sophomore 6-4 center Shavone Mack did not score in the game, but made her presence known with nine blocked shots (only two off the school record) and seven rebounds.
Francis Marion never trailed in the game, taking the lead on its first possession with a Brittany Young three-pointer. The Patriots would lead by as many as eight points midway through the half, before CSU put together a 12-5 run to get within a point at 23-22 on Erin Holder's three-pointer with 4:43 left. FMU answered with a 9-2 run that would push the lead back to eight points. Guilliams scored all the points in the run with three treys as part of her personal 11-point streak. Abena Bosia's three-pointer with 49 seconds left cut the margin to 32-27 at the half.
CSU fought back to tie the game on three different occasions in the first 10 minutes of the second half, the last coming at the 9:45 mark after a pair of Erin Gibbs free throws to make it 41-41. The Patriots answered with the decisive run of the game - a 12-0 spurt to take a 53-41 lead with 4:09 left. CSU would get as close as four points with 1:39 left on a Gibbs jumper, but could not get any closer as the FMU closed the game on a 7-0 run.
Gibbs and Cherwonna Walker led CSU with 12 points each on the afternoon. The two combined to go just seven of 24 from the floor, but hit a combined 10 of 13 free throws. Walker notched another double-double with 11 boards as CSU totally dominated the glass by a 54-37 count. The Lady Cougar defense held the Patriots to just six field goals in the final half, but hit just seven of their own in 33 attempts.
FMU plays host to Augusta State University on Wednesday in another PBC game at 5:30 p.m.
1-14-06 2:00 PM at Columbus, GA...Lumpkin Center
FRANCIS MARION 60, COLUMBUS STATE 49
FRANCIS MARION (6-6, 4-2 PBC)
Guilliams, Renee 6-11 5-5 21; Moore, Danielle 7-17 4-7 18; Downer, Shonelle
2-7 3-4 7; Young, Brittany 2-6 2-2 7; Marsh, Kirby 2-5 2-2 7; Kiefer,
Katherine 0-4 0-2 0; Mack, Shavone 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 19-57 16-22 60.
COLUMBUS STATE (9-7, 2-4 PBC)
Walker, Cherwonna 4-14 4-6 12; Gibbs, Erin 3-10 6-7 12; Pulici, Karina 3-8
0-0 9; Bosia, Abena 3-6 0-3 7; Holder, Erin 1-6 0-0 3; Hudmon, Shana 1-2 0-0
3; Jones, Erica 1-8 0-0 2; Hardeman, Shanrika 0-5 1-2 1; Pierce, Charla 0-1
0-0 0. Totals 16-60 11-18 49.
Halftime-Francis Marion 32 Columbus State 27.
3-point goals-Francis Marion 6-15 (Guilliams, Renee 4-7; Marsh, Kirby 1-3;
Young, Brittany 1-2; Kiefer, Katherine 0-1; Moore, Danielle 0-2), Columbus
State 6-23 (Pulici, Karina 3-8; Holder, Erin 1-5; Bosia, Abena 1-3; Hudmon,
Shana 1-2; Pierce, Charla 0-1; Jones, Erica 0-1; Gibbs, Erin 0-2; Walker,
Cherwonna 0-1). Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Columbus State-None.
Rebounds-Francis Marion 37 (Mack, Shavone 7; Downer, Shonelle 7), Columbus
State 54 (Walker, Cherwonna 11). Assists-Francis Marion 11 (Young, Brittany
4), Columbus State 10 (Jones, Erica 2; Gibbs, Erin 2; Hudmon, Shana 2).
Total fouls-Francis Marion 14, Columbus State 16. A-183
