PEMBROKE, N.C. - Senior forward Danielle Moore paced a balanced Francis Marion University attack with 16 points as the Patriots claimed an important Peach Belt Conference road win 58-52 over struggling UNC Pembroke, Monday night (Feb. 20) in women's action.
The Patriots improve to 11-13 overall and are now tied for fourth place in the PBC at 9-9. UNCP has lost four of its last six games and drops to 14-11 and 9-9.
Following Moore were three Patriots with eight points each: Kirby Marsh, Brittany Young, and Shavone Mack. Mack also hauled down a team-high 10 rebounds.
Forward Tasha Stotler led the Lady Braves with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but was held to 5-of-17 shooting. FMU, which leads the PBC in team field goal percentage defense, held UNCP to 29.6 percent shooting in the opening half and 32.8 percent for the game.
Francis Marion opened the game with a 13-0 run, eight of the points by the 6-4 Mack, as UNCP missed its first 11 field goal attempts. The Lady Braves managed to trim the margin to 20-17 on a three-pointer by Lauren Lingenfelter with 4:49 left before halftime, but the Patriots pushed the lead back to 31-24 as the teams left the floor for intermission.
UNCP opened the second half with its own 12-0 run to take a 36-31 advantage. Midway through the second stanza, the FMU deficit still stood at five points (40-35). The Patriots then responded with a 9-0 spurt to take a 44-40 lead.
A three-pointer by UNCP’s Lindsay Bartholf tied the score at 50-50 with 1:53 left. On the ensuing FMU possession, a layup by Moore put the Patriots up for good at 52-50. A jumper by Young upped the margin to 54-50 with 30 ticks remaining. Marsh and Moore then sealed the win by hitting two free throws apiece in the final 18 seconds.
Francis Marion took advantage of 16 UNCP turnovers to claim a 20-7 lead in “points off turnovers.”
FMU will play at Augusta State University, Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. in the team’s final regular-season road contest.
2/20/06 5:30 pm at Pembroke, NC
FRANCIS MARION 58, UNC PEMBROKE 52
FRANCIS MARION (11-13, 9-9 PBC)
Moore, Danielle 6-13 4-4 16; Young, Brittany 3-5 2-2 8; Mack, Shavone 4-12
0-0 8; Marsh, Kirby 2-5 3-4 8; Kiefer, Katherine 2-4 2-2 6; Downer, Shonelle
2-6 2-2 6; Guilliams, Renee 2-8 0-0 6; Gandy-Miller, Sienna 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 21-53 13-14 58.
UNC PEMBROKE (14-11, 9-9 PBC)
Stotler, Tasha 5-17 4-4 15; Lingenfelter, Lauren 4-10 2-5 11; Bartholf,
Lindsay 3-7 0-0 9; Wright, Tiffany 3-6 0-0 8; Lightfoot, Tracey 2-5 0-0 5;
Midgette, Sharkeysha 1-2 0-0 2; Vaughan, Kristin 1-6 0-0 2; Wegmann, Mallory
0-0 0-0 0; Ray, Natalie 0-0 0-0 0; Willis, Victoria 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 19-58
6-9 52.
Halftime-Francis Marion 31 UNCP 24.
3-point goals-Francis Marion 3-12 (Guilliams 2-6; Marsh 1-3; Downer 0-1; Young
0-1; Moore 0-1), UNCP 8-23 (Bartholf 3-5; Wright 2-4; Stotler 1-4; Lingenfelter
1-3; Lightfoot 1-3; Willis 0-2; Vaughan 0-2). Fouled out--None. Rebounds-Francis
Marion 39 (Mack 10), UNCP 34 (Stotler 11). Assists-Francis Marion 9 (Young 4),
UNCP 15 (Lightfoot 5). Total fouls-Francis Marion 14, UNCP 16. A-129
