FLORENCE, S.C. – Francis Marion University sophomore forward Shonelle Downer blocked a potential game-tying layup attempt by Armstrong Atlantic State University's Kaneetha Gordon with one second left to lift the Patriots to a 58-56 victory over AASU, Wednesday night (Feb. 8) in Peach Belt Conference women's action.
FMU (9-11, 7-7), which leads the PBC in blocked shots with over seven per game, swatted eight Lady Pirates shots away on Wednesday, including four by Downer. The 6-0 Columbia native also scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Francis Marion beat AASU for the 10th consecutive time in Florence, a string that dates to 1993.
Senior Danielle Moore paced FMU with 16 points and in the process passed former Patriots Amanda Sheheen and Christy Thomas to move into 20th place on the Francis Marion career scoring list with 1,156. Freshman guard Kirby Marsh added 13 points for FMU, including 10 in the opening half.
Forward Audosha Kelley led AASU (11-11, 6-9) with 18 points and nine rebounds, while guard Alicia Durham scored 14 points and Gordon tallied seven points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Downer’s heroics were set by the fact FMU did not score over the final 5:34 of the game. A bucket by sophomore point guard Brittany Young gave the Patriots a 58-46 lead with 5:34 left. Six free throws by AASU and two baskets by Kelley, the last with 32 ticks left, brought the Lady Pirates to within 58-56.
Moore then missed the front end of a one-and-one with :18 on the clock and Gordon grabbed the rebound. Following two AASU timeouts, Downer snuffed out Gordon’s attempt under the basket just prior to the final horn sounding.
Both team struggled through the first half, shooting a combined 20 of 73. FMU led 32-22 at intermission. Francis Marion never trailed in the second stanza, leading by eight-to-10 points until the final AASU rally.
Francis Marion plays at Georgia College & State University on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., while AASU plays host to UNC Pembroke on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
2-8-06 5:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 58, ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC 56
ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC (11-11 , 6-9 PBC)
Kelley, Audosha 8-18 2-3 18; Durham, Alicia 3-12 8-10 14; Gordon,
Kaneetha 3-10 1-6 7; Howard, Peaches 3-7 0-0 6; Mason, Ashley 1-5
2-2 4; Herron, Jasmine 1-3 1-3 4; Duhart, Ashley 1-3 1-2 3; Willis, Lacey
0-2 0-0 0; Griffiths, Tana 0-2 0-0 0; Brown, Sarah 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 20-66
15-26 56.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (9-11 , 7-7 PBC)
Moore, Danielle 8-14 0-2 16; Marsh, Kirby 3-12 5-5 13; Downer, Shonelle
4-12 2-2 10; Kiefer, Katherine 2-8 1-4 6; Young, Brittany 3-7 0-0 6; Guilliams,
Renee 2-6 0-0 5; Mack, Shavone 1-5 0-0 2; Preal, Shaketa 0-0 0-0 0;
Gandy-Miller, Sienna 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-65 8-13 58.
Halftime-Francis Marion 32 AASU 22.
3-point goals-Armstrong Atlantic 1-17 (Herron 1-3; Durham 0-3; Gordon 0-2;
Duhart 0-1; Griffiths 0-2; Brown 0-1; Kelley 0-5), Francis Marion 4-16 (Marsh 2-6;
Guilliams 1-5; Kiefer 1-3; Young 0-1; Downer 0-1). Fouled out--Howard, Mack.
Rebounds-Armstrong Atlantic 46 (Gordon 15), Francis Marion 48 (Downer 11).
Assists-Armstrong Atlantic 8 (Herron, 2, Howard 2), Francis Marion 14 (Young 6).
Total fouls-Armstrong Atlantic 15, Francis Marion 23. A-133
