AU women's basketball team stays alive in PBC race with 70-64 win at Francis Marion

By Q. Hughes | Sports writer

The Augusta University women’s basketball team defeated Francis Marion 70-64 on Feb. 24 in Florence, S.C.

The Jaguars, who swept the Patriots, improved to 5-4 in the Peach Belt Conference. AU is in fifth place with two games left to play. Georgia Southwestern sits in fourth with a 7-4 record. The top four teams from the regular season will play in the Peach Belt tournament.

AU has two games remaining, hosting UNC Pembroke on Saturday, Feb. 27, and playing at Columbus State on Monday, March 1. GSW, which edged Columbus State 74-73 on Wednesday night, has finished its regular season, as its game with Harris Young on Feb. 27 has been cancelled.

Against Francis Marion (1-9, 1-10), Augusta played well on both ends of the floor.

“Offensively, we needed to value the ball and get the ball inside via drives and post touches,” AU Coach Millette Green said. “Defensively, we wanted to force contested jump shots and limit their second chance points.”

Augusta was hard to handle, with four starting players scoring in double digits. Kiera Howard scored 14 points; she shot six for 10 from the floor and made both of her free throws. November Morton also scored 14 points. Kennedi Manning delivered 12 points while freshman Michaela Lane totaled 10. 

The Jaguars (6-7 overall) dominated on both ends of the floor. They shot 50 percent from the field while Francis Marion shot just 38 percent.

“Overall, I thought it was a good bounce back win for us on the road after tough stretch,” Green said. “We outscored Francis Marion in the paint and valued the ball. When we changed our defense to a 2-3 zone, we were able to force them to shoot more from the outside.”

In the first quarter, Francis Marion built an 18-15 lead. Then, in the second period, Augusta got comfortable. Morton knocked down a free throw to tie up the game for an 18-18 tie, and the Patriots never led after that. 

“We had a balanced scoring attack tonight that helped our offensive production,” Green said. “We must lock into the defensive game plan and rebound, rebound, rebound. If our shots are not falling, we must stop our opponent.”

Augusta’s home game against UNC Pembroke (3-3,3-2) will be at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. In order to maintain hopes for tying Georgia Southwestern for the final place in the PBC Tournament, the Jaguars must win.

Note: In the photo at the top of the page, November Morton shows her shooting form; she had 14 points in the win over Francis Marion. (photo by AU Athletics)

Contact Q. Hughes at qhughes@augusta.edu.