#23 Pacers experience Dyer circumstances and fall to #17 FMU

By Michael G. Hawkins

Senior guard Jennifer Dyer scored a game-high 18 points and 17th-ranked Francis Marion University never trailed en route to a 67-45 win over 23rd-ranked USC Aiken, Wednesday evening (Feb. 4) in Peach Belt Conference women’s basketball action.

Francis Marion (18-1, 11-1) avenged its only loss of the year, an 18-point decision on USCA’s home floor, while maintaining its 1.5 game lead in the PBC standings. It also marks the second straight year that FMU has beaten a nationally ranked Pacer squad in Florence.

Dyer connected on 6-of-9 shots, including 4-of-6 three-point attempts, while being the only Patriot to reach double digits. Freshman 6-0 center Dominique Powell added eight points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots, while guards Eboni Fields and Kevina Ransom also scored eight apiece. Ransom handed out six assists while committing no turnovers in 24 minutes of action.

Junior Kendra Chandler led USCA (16-7, 8-5) with 13 points, while Morgan Johnson tallied seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Senior guard Megan Starnes scored five points to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career.

FMU broke an early 2-2 tie with a 12-0 run that included points from five different players. USCA trimmed the margin to 14-7 at the 12:50 mark, but the Patriots answered with a 7-1 spurt to go up 21-8. The margin would swell to 23 points before Francis Marion left the floor at halftime with a 37-16 advantage.

The Pacers, who are rank 13th nationally in fewest turnovers at 15.1 per game, committed 17 miscues in the first half alone and 24 for the game.

USCA’s Tine Friedrich scored the first basket of the second stanza, but FMU responded with nine straight points to lead 46-18 with 15:39 left in the game. The Patriots’ largest lead came at 65-35 following a jump shot by Ransom with 4:34 remaining.

Francis Marion held the Pacers to a season-low 27.1 percent shooting. USCA also entered the game as the nation’s 17th-best free throw shooting team at 76.6 percent, but made only 19 of 33 at the stripe for 57.6 percent.

FMU held a 53-35 rebounding advantage, and led 23-8 in fast-break points.

Francis Marion plays host Georgia Southwestern State University on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WWFN-FM 100.1 The Fan and televised on Time Warner Cable’s channel 11 in Florence.