FLORENCE, S.C. – Junior guard Deo Ngulela scored a team-high 12 points and Augusta State University used a 53-34 rebounding advantage to grab a 61-50 win over Francis Marion University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 27) in Peach Belt Conference women’s basketball action.
ASU ups its overall mark to 12-6 and evens its PBC record to 4-4, while Francis Marion falls to 5-14 and 2-6.
Junior point Brittany Young led a short-handed FMU squad with 14 points, while freshman forward Yasmean Dixon added 12 points, her second straight double-figure effort. Guards Shaketa Preal and Kirby Marsh both sat out the contest with injuries.
Following Ngulela, forward Tracey Paschal scored 10 points and forward Shirrell Ford tallied six points and a game-high 15 rebounds. The Lady Jaguars held advantages of 17-6 on second-chance points and 26-10 in points-in-the-paint.
A basket by Dixon at the 8:17 mark of the opening stanza gave Francis Marion a 19-12 lead. Ford then contributed a pair of baskets to a 13-0 ASU run that gave the Lady Jaguars the lead for good. Augusta State held a 30-25 lead at intermission.
A three-pointer by Patriot sophomore Katherine Kiefer early in the second half brought FMU to within 35-32, but ASU scored the next 12 points to balloon the margin to 47-32.
The lead stayed in double digits until Dixon hit a layup with 1:40 remaining to cut the deficit to 55-47. Following an ASU turnover, Young further cut the lead with a three-pointer that brought Francis Marion to within 55-50 with 1:06 left. Ngulela then hit 4-of-4 free throws and Brittany Jarrard 2-of-2 in the final 45 seconds to seal the Lady Jaguar victory.
Francis Marion begins a span of three straight road games by playing at USC Aiken on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Augusta State plays host to Armstrong Atlantic State University on the same night, also at 5:30 p.m.
1-27-07 2 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
AUGUSTA STATE UNIVERSITY 61, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 50
AUGUSTA STATE UNIVERSITY (12-6 , 4-4 PBC)
Ngulela, Deo 1-5 9-10 12; Paschal, Tracey 4-12 2-3 10; Parker, Sherika 4-7
1-2 9; Mealing, Nicole 2-6 4-6 9; Jarrard, Brittany 2-11 2-2 6; Ford,
Shirrell 3-6 0-2 6; Batovska, Alla 1-6 2-2 5; Godwin, Jasmine 1-4 0-0 2;
Wyatt, Jamica 1-1 0-0 2; Paschal, Tiffany 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 19-63 20-27 61.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (5-14 , 2-6 PBC)
Young, Brittany 4-8 4-4 14; Dixon, Yasmean 4-10 4-6 12; Downer, Shonelle 2-5
4-8 8; Kiefer, Katherine 3-7 0-0 8; Guilliams, Renee 2-9 0-0 5; Mack,
Shavone 1-6 1-2 3; Cook, Erin 0-1 0-0 0; Quinlan, Chelsea 0-3 0-2 0. Totals
16-49 13-22 50.
Halftime: Augusta State 30 Francis Marion 25.
3-point goals-Augusta State University 3-15 (Mealing, Nicole 1-4; Batovska,
Alla 1-3; Ngulela, Deo 1-3; Jarrard, Brittany 0-5), Francis Marion
University 5-16 (Kiefer, Katherine 2-5; Young, Brittany 2-4; Guilliams,
Renee 1-6; Quinlan, Chelsea 0-1). Fouled out--Augusta State University-None,
Francis Marion University-Young, Brittany. Rebounds-Augusta State University
53 (Ford, Shirrell 15), Francis Marion University 34 (Downer, Shonelle 6;
Mack, Shavone 6). Assists-Augusta State University 13 (Ngulela, Deo 5),
Francis Marion University 12 (Young, Brittany 4). Total fouls-Augusta State
University 18, Francis Marion University 21. A-459
