FLORENCE — Francis Marion came into Saturday’s meeting with a short-handed Armstrong Atlantic State squad trying to avoid back-to-back losses to two of the Peach Belt Conference’s worst teams.
The Pirates wouldn’t let that happen.
Keron McKenzie’s 3-pointer with 1:12 remaining proved to be the game-winner as Armstrong Atlantic left Smith University Center with a 63-61 victory.
“I told my team there were two ways this game was gonna go,” said first-year Pirates coach Jeremy Luther, whose team dressed just nine players against FMU. “(The Patriots) could have taken (Wednesday’s loss to UNC Pembroke) as a five rebounds.
Shannon Singleton-Bates scored 12 points for FMU, and Nicole Mealing added 10. Robin Colbert followed with seven points, seven rebounds and seven steals.
“It felt good to be home,” Fields said. “I wanted to do everything possible to help my team, and I was feeling it.”
“Eboni played more of a reserve role last year, so she got more learning our system,” Macy said. “She’s getting to the hole, she’s defending and she does a lot of things to help us.”
Throughout the first half, FMU utilized its patented combination of pressure defense and lightning-fast offense. The Pirates (7-13, 4-8) folded under the weight of that pressure, committing 18 turnovers and shooting 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from the field.
Jazmin Walker led three players in double figures for AASU with 17 points, and Portia Jones added 11.
“We talked about the pressure in preparation,” AASU coach Matt Schmidt said. “Everybody knows what Francis Marion’s gonna do, and we didn’t do a good job protecting the ball."
The Patriots were able to convert most of those miscues into points, scoring 19 of them, 15 in transition. Fields connected on three shots from beyond the arc, and led her team with 11 points in the opening 20 minutes as FMU coasted into the locker room with a 42-25 halftime advantage.
“(The Pirates) have got really good players, and they shoot the 3 well,” said Macy, whose Patriots forced 29 turnovers leading to 27 points in the contest. “We did a good job of protecting the line and guarding their shooters.”
FMU 84, AASU 67
ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC STATE
Walker, Jazmin 5-11 7-11 17; Jones, Portia 5-12 0-0 11; Thomas, Dartayvia 2-5 6-6 10; Amirkhanyan, Arpine 3-6 3-4 9; Rimbert, Marissa 3-6 3-4 9; Hall, Lauren 2-6 1-1 5; McFarland, Briana 2-4 0-1 4; Hill, Lindsey 1-2 0-0 2; Boni, Jenea 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 20-27 67.
FRANCIS MARION
Fields, Eboni 10-14 0-1 27; Singleton-Bates, Sha 4-7 4-5 12; Mealing, Nicole 4-10 0-0 10; Colbert, Robin 3-6 1-2 7; Bowens, Tiahana 3-9 0-1 6; Franks, Shana 2-5 0-0 5; Tucker, Precious 2-9 1-2 5; Coleman, Dawn 2-4 0-0 4; Mealing, Courtney 1-5 1-2 4; Trice, Simone 1-2 0-1 2; Downs, Danelle 1-2 0-0 2; Dickerson, Kristen 0-1 0-0 0; Mann, Monica 0-2 0-0 0; Imani, Ana 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-77 7-14 84.
Halftime: Francis Marion 42 AASU 25
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